William Tarr House

This imposing Federal-style house with Italianate trim has stood abandoned, along the side of a major highway, for a number of years. Water intrusion is quickening the deterioration of the interior, while the exterior is facing spalding bricks and loose framework.

History

The original Federal-style house may have been the homestead of A. J. Hitt, who was listed as an operator of a flour and grist mill in Millersburg, Kentucky from 1865 to 1866.(1) At some time before 1877, William Tarr, a successful farmer and distiller, was responsible for the Italianate improvements. Tarr was an astute businessman, partner of Hibler and George C. White in the Chicken Cock Distillery in East Paris in the 1860s. By 1877, he was a proprietor of the Ashland Distilling Company in Lexington.

The house featured extensive Italianate trim, seemingly incorporating the smaller Federal house. The main entry way has fine Flemish-bond brickwork on the front wall, which was an expensive and laborious process to complete. The interior features several surviving doors and other elements from the Federal-era, however, most were swallowed up in the Italianate improvements shortly after the Civil War.(1)

The residence contains a two-story ell extension and another two-story section south of the main block, all constructed at different times. There is extensive cornice on the low-pitched roofs, and an elaborate front porch with paired columns and spandrel trim.(1)

The house was used up until 1985,(1) but it is unknown when it was actually abandoned.