Welcome to Historic Burlington, Kentucky

Take a stroll through a small Kentucky town that was and still is the heart of Boone County. The roots of Burlington stretch back to June of 1799, when the first County Court of Boone County voted to locate the county seat on 74 acres on the headwaters of Allens Fork. The town was first known as Craig's Camp and then Wilmington, before the name Burlington took in 1816. Burlington has always been the central gathering spot for a primarily rural and agricultural county. It proudly supports continuing governmental, commercial, and residential activity.

The Burlington National Register Historic District was designated in 1979 and contains several dozen buildings from as early as the 1820s. For a small town, Burlington boasts a wide range of historic buildings. Institutional buildings such as the 1889 Courthouse, 1853 County Clerk’s Office, banks and churches are prominent. The early Federal and Greek Revival buildings in the heart of town are complemented by a tidy collection of stylish bungalows from the early 20th Century.

Your WALKING TOUR begins and ends at the Renaker House on Union Square, which is tucked behind the Old Courthouse in this quaint county seat. Historic properties with bronze interpretive plaques are numbered on the tour map. Historic sites not yet marked with plaques are lettered. Sites 1 through 15, 19 and A through I are located in the heart of town and best visited on foot. Sites 16, 17, 18, 20, and J through L may require a short drive.

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The c. 1822 Erastus Tousey Houseon North Jefferson Street.

SITES CLOSE TO THE TOWN CENTER

16. First Baptist Church of Burlington (5920 Perlate): Begun c.1881 by the Trustees of the 2nd Colored Baptist Church, the First Baptist Church of Burlington is one of the oldest active African-American congregations in Boone County.

17. Hogan House (5878 Jefferson): This c.1860 log house built with recycled materials was restored in 1997 to house Cabin Arts of Burlington quilting supplies and gift shop.

18. Willis Graves House (5825 Jefferson): This c.1830 brick home has been extensively rehabilitated and is now Burlington’s Willis Graves Bed and Breakfast Inn.

20. McKim-Crisler House (6031 South Orient): This stately frame residence was built c.1897 for Burlington’s Dr. Crisler. A log pen in the rear of the building dates to c.1849. The property contains a group of period outbuildings, including a privy with lancet-arched windows.

j. Burlington School (5946 N. Orient): This 1939 building is one of two Art Moderne schools in Boone County built by George Nicholson.

k. Robert Chambers House (6199 East Bend): One of the finest Greek Revival houses in Boone County, the Chambers house was built 1832 - 1836 by mason Jessie Kelly with woodwork executed by Thomas Roberts.

l. Old Burlington Cemetery (Bullittsville Rd.): Many prominent Boone Countians are interred in this historic cemetery, managed by the Boone County Historic Preservation Review Board.

Boone County HistoricPreservation Review Board

P.O. Box 958Burlington, KY 41005

859-334-2111Www.boonecountyheritage.org

HISTORIC BURLINGTON, KENTUCKY

A WALKING TOUR OF THE COUNTY SEAT

Presented by:

Boone County Historic Preservation

Review Board

The 1889 Boone County Courthouseshown with the original tower.

The 1889 Boone County Courthouseshown with the original tower.

The town croquet court on Union Squarec. 1900 (beside the Joseph Graves House).

Looking west on Washington Street (Kentucky 18) c. 1930. Oct. 2013

1. Renaker House (Union Square): Built c.1830, probably by Benjamin Piatt Fowler, this building was the Boone House Tavern until 1870. Boone County bought the building in 1967 and restored it in 1992.

2. Boone County Courthouse (2988 Washington): There has been a county courthouse on this site since 1799. Designed by the McDonald Brothers of Louisville, the present Renaissance style courthouse was completed in 1889 at a cost of $19,740. A nearly identical courthouse was built in Bandera, TX, in 1890. The cupola was designed by Samual Hannaford & Sons and built in 1898.

3. Boone County Deposit Bank (2995 Washington): This Neo-Classical structure was built in 1925 on the original site of the County Clerk's Office. That building (#15) was relocated two times. The bank building now houses the Kentucky Commonwealth Attorney.

a. Boone County Jail (2981 Washington): This bungalow style building, completed in 1928, is the last of a series of small county jails built on the same site.

4. Central House Hotel (5991 Jefferson): The finest of Burlington's 19th century hotels, this building was built in stages beginning c.1840. A hardware store for years, it was converted to a restaurant in 2003.

b. Boone County Recorder Office (3012 Washington): Built in 1939 when the Recorder relocated from South Jefferson Street, this brick commercial structure blends Neoclassical and Renaissance styles. Rassenfoss Family Dentistry rehabilitated and occupied the building in 2013.

5. Latimer-Walden House (3024 Washington): Interesting details abound in this spacious house originally built c. 1867 and updated in the early 20th Century. It now houses Bowman Music & Creative Outlet.

c. Smith-Jones House (3032 Washington): This bungalow was built in 1927 for the Smith family and occupied for over 20 years by Alfred and Lydia Jones. Masterworks Photography is now located here.

6. Peoples Deposit Bank (5995 Jefferson): Peoples Deposit Bank occupied this 1905 building until merging with the Boone County Deposit Bank in 1928. It has been an insurance office ever since.

7. Joseph Graves House (5981 Jefferson St.): This c.1817 building may be the oldest brick structure in Burlington. Built facing north, it was originally an office. Rehabilitated in 2002, it is now occupied by Washington Square Café and Catering.

8. Stephens-Yelton House (5975 Jefferson): This is an outstanding example of a c.1884 Burlington home. It now serves as the home base for online retailer The Opinionated Bookseller.

9. Foster-Sandford House (5982 Jefferson): Built c.1831, this graceful brick home features a combination of early Federal elements and Greek Revival details added c. 1850. The front wall was rebuilt after being struck by a van in 2001. It is now home to photographer Christin Berry Studios.

10. Burlington Presbyterian Church (5974 Jefferson): Built 1833, this building also features both Federal and Greek Revival detailing. In the early 1900s, it housed a library and later the Burlington Volunteer Fire Department. In 2001, it was adapted for the county’s property maintenance department.

11. Erastus Tousey House (5963 Jefferson): This beautifully restored house was built as a residence in the Federal style c.1822. It was rehabilitated in the early 1990s and re-oponed in 2008 as the Tousey House Tavern.

d. Gulley-Pettit-Duncan House (5953 Jefferson): This beautiful little house was built about 1920 on a Bungalow plan with Colonial Revival detailing.

e. McMullen-Ryle House (5958 Jefferson): County Clerk Asa G. McMullen built this house in 1929 and sold it to Kenneth W. Ryle and his wife Aliscia. It has been used as a business for many years.

12. James Runyan House (5954 Jefferson): Now home to Look What I Found Antiques, this c.1840 Greek Revival residence has seen many uses, including that of church rectory.

13. Burlington Methodist Church (5952 Jefferson): Originally Greek Revival in style, this 1837 church, now Burlington Antiques, was completely remodeled in 1923 in a Gothic Revival design.

f. Duncan-Cropper House (5946 Jefferson): Former Boone County Judge-Executive Carroll Cropper and his wife lived in this outstanding c.1924 Craftsman Bungalow for nearly 40 years.

14. Duncan House (2984 Gallatin): This fine 1910s Bungalow incorporates telltale Arts & Crafts design elements such as battered porch columns and 3-over-1 window sash.

g. Rice-Williams House (2976 Gallatin): This late 19th Century house was the home of Kentucky’s first woman sheriff Glenrose Williams, who took office in 1944 after the death of her father Sheriff J. T. Williams.

h. Rice House (2966 Gallatin): In the late 19th Century, Will Rice built this house for himself and the adjacent Rice-Williams House for his brother.

15. Boone County Clerks Office (2965 Gallatin): This Greek Revival structure was built in 1853 and is Boone County’s oldest surviving government building. It was built on the SE corner of Washington and Jefferson Streets, but moved to the west side of Jefferson Street in 1924 where it served as the Burlington Post Office. Boone County moved the building to its present site and restored it in 2001.

i. Ida Balsley House (2961 Gallatin): This c.1925 bungalow with Colonial Revival detailing was built for Ida Balsley and occupied for years by Mrs. Kelly.

19. Senator S. Walker Tolin House (2922 Washington): Folk Victorian detailing is prominently featured on this c.1887 building, was restored by attorney Michael McKinney as his office in the 1990s.

NICHOLAS ST.

JEFFERSON ST.

GARRARD ST.

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1883 Atlas of Burlington with existing buildings superimposed in black

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