d Lincoln’s Lexington Walking Tour Lincoln & African-American Sites from 1800 to 1860 Lexington played a unique role in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Because his wife grew up in Lexington, Lincoln had many family ties to the city. Lexington also was home to his mentor Henry Clay, who had a profound impact on his political career. Furthermore, Lincoln’s Civil War counterpart and rival, Jefferson Davis, attended college at Transylvania University and was a friend of the Clay family. Lincoln visited Lexington on several occasions before becoming President. As he walked throughout town, he would have passed homes and small retail shops. Some of these would have been homes and businesses of “free persons of color.” Americans of African descent lived along every street in Lexington at the time, and some who were enslaved lived in homes adjacent to those of their owners. Lincoln more than likely saw them and perhaps engaged them in conversation, as was his habit. 1. Phoenix Park Corner of Main and Limestone Streets At this site John Postlethwait opened his first tavern in 1797. It soon developed into a popular stage coach stop and hotel. The building burned several times over the years but was always rebuilt; consequently the name was changed to Phoenix, the mythical bird that rose from the ashes. Enslaved and free persons worked in the establishment. Henry Britton, a free black, had a barber shop in the basement as indicated in the 1859 City Directory. The hotel was demolished in 1982. The Lexington Public Library moved to the site in 1989. The park was named in 1990. Now 2. Site of the Home of Cyrus Parker Jones Corner of Main St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. At this location is a Kentucky Historical Highway Marker designatNow ing the site of the Campbell-Rice religious debates held in 1843 at the Main Street Christian Church. Adjacent to it was a two story brick house probably used as a rectory. Trustees sold the house to Cyrus Parker Jones in 1857. Jones, enslaved to the Parker family, was emancipated by Elizabeth Parker, grandmother of Mary Todd Lincoln, in her will of December 24, 1849. Abraham Lincoln, who helped settle her estate after her death in January 1850, may have met Jones. Jones is noted for the preservation of the largest collection of funeral notices (667) of the time period 1806 to 1886. The collection contains death notices of individuals from prominent families of Lexington and of at least seven free blacks. Jones, prior to his death, donated the collection to James M. Duff, a trustee of the Lexington Public Library. Jones died in 1887 at the age of 96 and is buried in the oldest African-American cemetery in the city (1869) located on Seventh Street. 3. First African Baptist Church Now Corner of Short and Deweese Streets Trustees purchased the old Methodist Church building at this location in 1834. The first half of the building now standing was constructed in 1856; an addition was added in 1926. This church was organized in 1790 by Peter Durrette who remained its pastor until his death in 1823. The church reportedly had up to 1,800 members by the 1850s. It was originally known as the African Church when admitted to the Baptist Association in 1824. d 4. Site of the Home of London Ferrell 6. Site of Second 9. Old Morrison Presbyterian Church 301 West Third Street This block is the approximate location of the home of London FerNow rell. A native of Virginia, he was a free black minister ordained by the white Baptist Church in 1821. Ferrell, who migrated to Lexington in 1812, co-pastored the African Church until 1823 at which time he became the pastor. In August 1835, Ferrell officiated at the ceremony uniting Jane Wales and Lewis Sanders at the Todd home (now the Mary Todd Lincoln House). Understanding the conditions of slavery, Ferrell often pronounced couples married until parted by “death or distance.” Because Kentucky law did not recognize slave marriages, the Sanders’ marriage was not legally recognized until June 1871. Family stories identify Jane Sanders as the Todd family housekeeper. Ferrell remained in Lexington during the cholera epidemic and comforted the sick and administered last rites to those who had died regardless of race and religious association. He was buried in October 1854 in the Old Episcopal Burying Grounds, and is the only African American to be buried there. The Kentucky Statesman reported that the funeral of London Ferrell included “70 carriages, besides lengthy procession of people walking four abreast, and 60 on horseback … Over 4,000 present at grave services.” The original church building dedicated July 30, 1815, was where Mary Todd Lincoln’s family attended services. It was often called “McChord’s Church” in memory of its first pastor, the Rev. James McChord, who died in 1820. The City Directory of 1838-1839 noted that his “bones rest beneath the church.” Services were held at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays and there was a weekly lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Lincoln and his wife may have attended services on this site during their visit to Lexington in the fall of 1847. Short Street between Esplanade and Deweese Streets 5. The Public Square Cheapside between Main and Short Streets This area was set aside in the 1780 plat of the town as a public square. Courthouses of Lexington have stood here since 1788. The present edifice is the fifth courthouse, the fourth on this site. The City Directory boasted that the Courthouse Square was enclosed with “beautiful iron railings and ornamented with delightful shrubbery.” It is ironic that the Directory makes no mention of the Slave Auction Block where enslaved African Americans were sold. In 1833, Kentucky legislators passed a nonimportation act which prohibited slaves from being brought into the state. But they could be sold within the state, or sold outside it. By the 1840s, Lexington had become the center of slave trading in Kentucky. Dealers Pullum, Robards and others regularly advertised to purchase and sell slaves and had offices and “slave jails” located on Main Street, Short Street, and Broadway. Slaves were also sold at the square for the settlement of estates and debts. Slaves of Robert S. Todd, Mary Todd Lincoln’s father, were sold to settle his estate. The square also contained a Whipping Post for punishment of those who violated rules and regulations established by the Town Council. Cheapside, now a public park, was Lexington’s marketplace throughout the 1800s and into the mid-1900s and named for its counterpart in London, England. Past Now 180 Market Street Now 7. Ridgely House/ Ward’s Academy 190 Market Street Built about 1794 by Dr. Frederick Ridgely, this is the oldest home around Gratz Park. It was one of the locations for the Shelby Female Institute known as Ward’s Academy. The school was founded in 1827 by Episcopal minister Rev. John Ward. Mary Todd Lincoln began her education at this school, graduating in 1831. She continued her education for four more years at Mentelle’s Academy, located near Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate. Tuition at Ward’s was about $44 per year. French lessons were extra. Ward’s Academy later moved to Mill Street. Now 8. Bodley-Bullock House 200 Market Street Now A former Indian fighter and lawyer, General Thomas Bodley purchased this property in 1814 for $10,000. Robert Smith Todd, father of Mary Todd Lincoln, apprenticed law in the office of Thomas Bodley before being admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1811. During the Civil War, this house was headquarters for Union troops and they printed their newspaper, The Mail Bag, here. Also of Note: The Lexington History Center in the Old County Courthouse is home to four unique museums: Lexington History Museum, Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum, Lexington Public Safety Museum and the Kentucky Renaissance Pharmacy Museum. Wilson Family Photographic Collection, University of Kentucky Transylvania’s second administration building was built between 1830 and 1834 to replace an earlier main building that burned. Architect Gideon Shyrock, who designed the building, also designed the 1830 state capitol in Frankfort. His father Mathias Shyrock was the architect of the Mary Todd Lincoln house on Main Street. During the Civil War, Federal troops used Old Morrison as a hospital. Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the oldest institution of higher education in Kentucky. Now 10.The Hunt Morgan House 201 North Mill Street Built about 1814 by Kentucky’s first millionaire, John Wesley Hunt. Grandson John Hunt Morgan became a Confederate general and led raids into Kentucky during the Civil War. According to local legend, Gen. Morgan once rode his horse through the front steps of the house, paused in the hall to kiss his mother, then galloped out the back door—with Union troops in hot pursuit. Now 11. Henry Clay’s Law Office 176 North Mill Street Now Erected 1803-04, this is the only office standing used by Henry Clay; he occupied it from 1804 until circa 1810. He lived across the street at the time in a house built for him by his father-in-law, Thomas Hart. Henry Clay, a lawyer and politician, ran for president three times and earned the moniker “The Great Compromiser.” Clay was a founding member of the American Colonization Society (1816), a movement to relocate free blacks to Liberia, a colony on the coast of West Africa. Clay owned up to fifty slaves at one time. Noteworthy were Charlotte and Aaron Dupuy. Deeds indicate that Clay emancipated Charlotte and her daughter Mary Ann in 1840 and her son Charles in 1844. There is no evidence that Clay ever emancipated Charlotte’s husband Aaron. Also of Note: If you wish to extend your tour, Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate is located just one mile from downtown at 120 Sycamore Road. For more information go to www.henryclay.org or call (859) 266-8581. Bullock Photographic Collection, Special Collections, Transylvania University Library. Bullock Photographic Collection, Special Collections, Transylvania University Library. MAIN 4 3 SHORT SECOND 13 14 12 11 to Yvonne Giles, director of the Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum, and Gwen Thompson, director of the Mary Todd Lincoln House, for researching and compiling this tour and to Dr. James Klotter, State Historian. 5 6 7 8 Many Thanks: 18 17 Lexington Public Library This program was funded in part by the Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc. and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Friends of the Lexington Public Library. “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation” has been organized by the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, NYC, in cooperation with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. This exhibition was made possible by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, promoting excellence in the humanities, and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, created by Congress and charged with planning the national celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday. 16 15 The Kentucky Reporter dated June 23, 1819, announced that the Lexington Library would be opening “Saturday next on ground floor of M. Giron ball room.” The Lexington Library, which was founded in 1796, has operated at numerous locations in downtown Lexington over the years. By the late 1830s it had 7,000 volumes and “the privilege of reading” could be obtained for $2 per annum. This rendered it the “most cheaply accessible” library in the United States in addition to its being “the largest and best selected in the western country.” Wilson Family Photographic Collection, University of Kentucky 9 Also of Note: Now BROADWAY Clay Lancaster Collection, University of Kentucky This Italianate-style brick house was built in 1871 by a prominent banker. It was an orphanage from 1907 to 1975. The Parker name refers to Elizabeth Parker (Mary Todd Lincoln’s grandmother), who lived in an earlier house at this address. Cyrus Parker Jones (see site #2) was part of this household before gaining his freedom. MARKET 511 West Short Street UPPER 16. Parker Place 2 Now 1 Past Now Note: not to scale Now The property was the Todd family residence from 1832 to 1849. Mary Todd resided here from the ages of 13 to 21, before moving to Springfield, Illinois, to live with a sister in 1839. There she met Abraham Lincoln and they were married in November 1842. The Lincolns stayed at this home during their 1847 visit to Lexington, en route to Washington, D.C., for the start of Lincoln’s congressional term. Lincoln visited Lexington on several other occasions after that, including to settle the estates of Mary’s father Robert S. Todd and her grandmother Elizabeth Parker. Lincoln would have had direct contact with the enslaved of both households. (For more information go to www.mtlhouse.org or call (859) 233-9999.) 1 Past Past 578 West Main Street 10 M. Mathurin Giron, a French immigrant, conducted a confectionary in this vicinity after 1810, constructing this building in 1837. His ballroom located above the confectionary was a center of entertainment in the city and home to many cotillions, public parties, and dancing and music classes. In 1825 Gen. Lafayette (aide to Gen. Washington and the man for whom Fayette County is named) visited Lexington, and Giron honored him with an elaborate tiered white cake. Young Mary Todd, a favorite customer, is said to have acquired Giron’s white cake recipe, which became a favorite of Lincoln’s. According to the census records of 1820, Giron owned one female slave. In 1915, the southern portion of Giron’s Confectionary was demolished with only half of the original building remaining. 18. Mary Todd Lincoln House = tour stop = historical marker 125 North Mill Street Mary Todd Lincoln was born on this site December 13, 1818, and lived here until 1832 at which time the family moved to Main Street. The 1820 Census indicates that the Todd household include Mr. and Mrs. Todd, four children under 10 years old and three female slaves. Eventually Mr. Todd had 16 children from his two marriages. Of the 14 who lived to adulthood half were Confederate sympathizers and half Union. Four of Mary’s brothers fought in the Confederate army. Two were killed in the Civil War. After the original property was gutted by fire, masonry from the birthplace was salvaged to build the red brick gatehouse of present-day Calvary Cemetery. The current house was built after that time. Barton Battaile Collection, Lexington Public Library. Map of Sites 13. Giron’s Confectionary 509 West Short Street \ MILL Laura Clay Photographic Collection, University of Kentucky 15. Site of Mary Todd Lincoln Birthplace Presented by the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum and the Lexington Public Library. Now Lincoln & African American Sites from 1800 to 1860 Past Lincoln’s Lexington d Walking Tour d Now THIRD Now The old Lexington Theatre occupied this site until July 1864 when the interior of the building was destroyed by fire. One of the more famous slave dealers, Lewis C. Robards, purchased the property in 1851 and reportedly used the stage to display his “choicest stock.” The property was mortgaged to John Hunt Morgan in 1855. Robards sold the property to another company just before some customers who had been sold “inferior merchandise” sued him. The building was being utilized as a jail by the Union Army during the Civil War when it burned. The brick and foundation stone were sold and the lot eventually was purchased by trustees of First Congregational Church (African American) in 1891. The church building is still standing with modifications made in 2006 to accommodate the new housing construction between Main and Short Streets. CHEAPSIDE Past Past 514 West Short Street LIMESTONE This block is the approximate location of Cassius Clay’s printing office. Cousin of Henry Clay, he came from one of the largest land- and slaveowning families in Kentucky. Clay was a fervent emancipationist who had released about fifty of those enslaved to him in March 1844. He published the first issue of his controversial newspaper The True American, on this site on June 3, 1845. On August 8, 1845, a committee of local slave owners entered the building and removed the printing press. It was shipped to Cincinnati where Clay continued to print. Clay later became Ambassador to Russia during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Opened in January 1836, this is Lexington’s oldest surviving post office building. The post office was open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every weekday and 8 to 9 a.m. on Sundays. Mail rates were based on distance and number of pages. A letter that was three pages long and traveled over 400 miles would have been a costly 75¢. Joseph Ficklin was the postmaster from 1822 to 1841 and again from 1843 to 1850. He is remembered for having boarded Jefferson Davis at his home on High Street. MARTIN LUTHER KING North Mill Street between Short and Main Streets 307 West Short Street 17. Site of Robard’s Slave Jail ESPLANADE Clay’s Printing Office 14. Post Office DEWEESE 12. Site of Cassius Mary and Abraham Lincoln: Library of Congress. Cover photo: Clay Lancaster Slide Collection, University of Kentucky