GREATER JEFFERSONTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

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Peregrine Randall
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1 GREATER JEFFERSONTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER June 2016 Vol. 14 Number 3 June 2016 Meeting The June meeting will be held on Monday, June 6, We will meet at 7:00 P.M at the Jeffersontown Library, Watterson Trail. In association with the Jeffersontown Branch Library and the Filson Historical Society the program will be To The Polls! Political Campaigns Through the Years, presented by Jim Homberg. The Greater Jeffersontown Historical Society meetings are now held on the first Monday of the even numbered months of the year. Everyone is encouraged to attend to help guide and grow the Society. Program Description: Americans have been holding presidential elections for well over 200 years; and except for George Washington, as the nation s first chief executive, there have always been contenders for the office. Some campaigns for the White House have been rather calm affairs, while others have been vigorously and bitterly contested. Through the years, The Filson has acquired a large collection of campaign related material that gives both voice and vision to this important process in our country s political life. In this illustrated presentation, Curator of Special Collections Jim Holmberg will show a sampling of The Filson s presidential campaign and election material and discuss their use in the race for the White House. Jim Holmberg is a native of Louisville and holds a BA and MA from the University of Louisville in History. He joined the staff of The Filson in 1982 and currently serves as the Curator of Collections. Because this is one of several programs presented by The Filson and the LFPL, and the number of people these programs drawing, so reservations are required. You can call me at or call the library ticket line at August Meeting Steve Wiser and Jack Koppel will talk about Jefferson County cemeteries at the meeting on Monday, August 1. April Meeting Martha Elson, a reporter for The Courier-Journal, who has a weekly history column in the Sunday edition, and Kathleen Owen, Nunnlea curator spoke about the history of Nunnlea and Kathleen had many Funk family artifacts laid out for all to see.

Nunnlea, owned by the Beautification League of Louisville and Jefferson County, and one of three houses built by the Funk Family on 300 acres in the area of the intersection of Taylorsville Road and

2 Nunnlea, owned by the Beautification League of Louisville and Jefferson County, and one of three houses built by the Funk Family on 300 acres in the area of the intersection of Taylorsville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway, was built by Peter Funk for his daughter, Harriet Funk Hise (also spelled Hite in some documents). The beautiful one-story, ten-room house was probably constructed around 1854, and still remains intact along with its original smokehouse, carriage house, and slave quarters. The old wood beams in the smokehouse still have large pieces of tin nailed across the tops of them that prevented the rats from running across the beams and getting to the meat hanging on the beams. At one time Nunnlea was known as Willowbrook and was located on Funk Branch Road, now Hurstbourne Parkway. Martha has been interested in Nunnlea for years, and first wrote about it in 2005 when its 150 th anniversary was celebrated and again in Nunnlea s story fascinates Martha because of how it has been used for many purposes over the years and how it was saved. Virginia and George Eady owned the land starting in Virginia s maiden name was Nunn and the Eady s named the house Nunnlea. In 1957 they sold 150 acres to hotelman J. Graham Brown for $350,000. The sale excluded the house and ten acres around it. The Eadys eventually sold that in 1961 to developer Roy McMahan who had the intention of tearing it down and developing the land. The Jefferson County Beautification League learned of his intentions and inquired if he would sell the house and some land to the League. McMahan agreed but only gave them a short time to raise the $35,000 sale price. The Beautification League raised the money and in early 1962 took possession of the estate, the first time it was not a private residence. Of course it was much different then now. There were many more trees on the property and there was straight dirt drive that came from a two-lane Hurstbourne Lane. Nunnlea is surrounded by the Hurstbourne Acres subdivision and the old servant s quarters serves as the Hurstbourne Acres police station and city hall. Kathleen Owen spoke about the history and uses of Nunnlea. Peter Funk was a farmer, surveyor, building contractor, and horse culturalist, and is said to have developed an apple cultivar that bears his name, but Kathleen hasn t been able to confirm that fact. Peter fought in the War of 1812 and took part in the Battle at Tippecanoe. He built a race track that was called the Bluegrass Track in the area of the Taylorsville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway intersection, and held horse races in 1825, some of the first organized horse racing in Kentucky. The construction business was sold after he built his daughter s new home. Kathleen had many artifacts on display including photographs of the house from 1898 and the 1930s, a copy of Peter Funk s 1860 will that lists items he left to his daughter, Harriet, and a letter from President Herbert Hoover confirming he had visited Nunnlea. Harriet s small personal bible was also on display in a glass case. Much family information was gleamed from it, as Harriet wrote personal notes on most of it pages. The deed book from when Peter transferred the house to his ninth and supposedly most treasured child, Harriet, was one of the exhibits.

3 Nunnlea is written about in some books Joellen Johnston s Jeffersontown- 200 Years, and Haunted Kentucky Tales of a Conduit by Terri Grimes. Harriet was named after her mother who was a Hise, so she was Harriet Hise Funk, so daughter, Harriet was Harriet Funk and she married a Hise (Hite), so she was Harriet Funk Hise. In literature found at Nunnlea the two Harriets were confused. And to add to all of it after Harriet Funk Hise s husband died, she married a man whose last name was Hyde. Kathleen noted that all the original buildings on the property are on the National Register of Historical Places and that people think that that automatically protects them from any harm. That is not correct, it is only a designation of historical importance and protects private property from the government. The owner can do whatever he wants with a National Register site. That is what saved the spring house across Hurstbourne on the old Peter Funk Cherry Springs property. When Hurstbourne Lane was widened the old spring house was in the way, but the road way had to be moved because the owners at the time would not give permission to tear it down. However, being on the National Register did not save the Confederate Monument on Third Street by the University of Louisville because it belongs to the city of Louisville. Only land marking a site through the Land Mark Commission can save a site from all comers without a court fight. The Beautification League tries to keep the house as original as possible by searching for period parts when something needs repairing. They did put in central heating and air conditioning, but anything like that is hidden as best possible; new wiring is done the same. The four-brick thick outside walls are made from brick made on site when the house was built, the interior walls are one-foot thick brick, and the ceilings are fourteen and a half feet high and that is where all the heat goes in the winter. The floors which were pine and poplar when built are not original, except for in the two bathrooms where the original flooring is still under the replacement flooring. The interior doors are ten-feet tall and are very heavy, but are only hung with two hinges. Caring for and showing the house is a labor of love for members of the League Kathleen said. She marvels that all the large and somewhat ornate woodwork was all done by real craftsmen at the time without the power tools available now. The roofs and box gutters on all the buildings on the estate are copper, so the League is very happy the police station is on site. When the new heating and air conditioning was installed and the old boilers torn out, an original fireplace was uncovered; the kitchen was not attached to the house and on its own foundation in the beginning as was the custom at the time because of possible fire hazards, and there is a fireplace underneath the kitchen. They don t know when or who joined the kitchen to the house. The use of the fireplace in the basement of the main house, whether for cooking or heating, is not known.

4 At the rear of the house there are old wing type doors opening to the basement/cellar from the outside. The steps going down into the cellar are big blocks of limestone. This was where the servants entered the house. All the windows open as do the transoms above the doors. There is an attic space that is accessed through a trapdoor in the ceiling. Attached are Nunnlea history and family tree provided by the Beautification League. Questions and Answers -- Who died during the Civil War? Harriet Funk Hise s husband, Alfred, died of TB in They had four children and by 1867 she had married to Mr. Hyde, sold the house, and the Hydes had moved into Jeffersontown. Any evidence of hauntings of Nunnlea? Terri Grimes has a whole chapter on Nunnlea. She visited Nunnlea four times. Kathleen has photographs that show orbs of light that are supposedly evidence of ghosts and spirits. Kathleen says she has had some experiences, she finds the basement especially spooky and won t go there by herself. When the Hurstbourne police occupied the mother-in-law bedroom in the back of the main house, the big macho, gun and Taser toting guys did not want to stay there at night because of the atmosphere in the office. Out on patrol they would go! When the League bought the house they had a caretaker living in the apartment, and a few times she would lock the door after an event, go do some cleanup, come back through and the door would be open. She would lock it again, come back and it would be open. Problem solved by talking to the spirit, who was said to be very friendly. Kathleen s experience happened one winter day when she came in and the place was freezing. She checked the thermostat and found it set down to fifty degrees. She turned it up and after it got cold again. She found the thermostat set on fifty again. This went on for several times. Finally Kathleen said she went to the center of the room and hollered this nonsense has to stop! The water pipes will freeze, burst, and the place will be ruined! It never happened again. Anything found in the attic from past residents? In a dress box was a beautiful wedding dress that is being restored and framed. Owners are unknown. Nunnnlea Tours - Tours of Nunnlea for any size group can be arranged by appointment by calling Kathleen Owen at On the first Thursday of every month ( with a few exceptions ) the Beautification League holds its meetings at Nunnlea, which are open to the public. Call Kathleen for guest speakers and agenda. Contact Us Our address is jtownhistsociety@aol.com. The telephone contact is your newsletter editor, John Ulmer,

First Floor Plan. Second Floor Plan

First Floor Plan. Second Floor Plan The Flint Homestead was built by 1709 for Ephraim Flint (1641 1723) and his wife Jane Bulkeley. They did not have any children. In 1723 he willed his mansion house to his nephew, John Flint, and to John