7.2 Brandenburg Cabin Now at Otter Creek Park

That was the article that started the search. I ask Pam for some background on her family and she replied, “My father’s name was Harold Mix.  His father was Theodore Mix of Leavenworth, IN and my grandmother Nannie Claycomb of Raymond, KY (Breckinridge County). The small log cabin was their family home. My grandparents married in 1924 in Meade County. My dad’s note says he was born in one room (in 1927) while his sister Ethel was born in the other room (in 1933) and “Little Brother” Theodore Jr. died in the same room my dad was born in. (must have been the kitchen since oral tradition has Little Brother dying of being scalded after pulling over a pan of boiling water on himself. He was just shy of two years old. b. 1931 Feb and died 20 Dec 1932)

It is unfortunate that an inventory of historical structures has never been done in Meade County, Ky. Our only resource for the area are newspaper artiles published over the years, and like any contemporary report of any time, these sometimes become out-of-date due to the passing of time. One of these articles by W.M. Boling is reproduced in this Ancestral News.

There is quite a bit of information available on the house and after firing off several emails, and making a few telephone calls the following was gathered.

Apparently, ATHS member Jon Whitfield had received a letter from Pam’s father back in 1995. In the Summer of 1995, jon wrote an article for the Meade County Messenger. Jon’s 2001 comments are in brackets.

“At hand is a letter from Harold Mix, a former Meade Countian who now lives in Palm Springs, California. He enclosed a copy of a Courier-Journal article that appeared some years ago when David Gahlinger and others tore down the house just across Monroe Street from First Baptist Church and door to the Jim and Minnie Bondurant house, which still stands.

Note: That house has since been demolished. A parking lot is being extended in that direction.

Footnote: The one “since demolished” is the one where Alice Scott’s grandparents, Jim and Minnie Bondurant lived when I came here in 1954 and they lived there until their deaths. Later it was lived in (owned?) by Rev. Stewart Fowler and wife. He was a Pentacostal and believed the reason that house was spared in the tornado and the church destroyed was that he was living right, and the Baptists weren’t! It was a one-story house. The one where the Mixes lived and that had the logs was on the corner; the next to it towards Hwy 448. JW-2001

It was described as an eleven-room house. It looked Victorian with long narrow windows and ginger bread around the small front porch. Inside was a log cabin which was taken apart carefully and reconstructed at Otter Creek Park. I had thought that this log house had a frame house built around it, but if I understand Alice Bondurant Scott, who lived there, it was simply a log house covered with a clapboard, with rooms added at the rear. If this is the case, it is not too unusual; a lot of log houses were “upgraded” in this way.

The article was sent to him by his mother and as of special interest to him because he was born in that house! His birth took place Dec. 12, 1927. His parents were Theodore and Nannie Claycomb Mix. His brother, Theodore Mix, Jr., died in the same room where he was born, and his sister, Ethel Louise Miller, was born in another room. Another sister, Eula Jantzen lived in Meade County most of her life, but now lives in Stevensport.

The house was standing when I came to Brandenburg in 1954 and I didn’t notice anything unusual about it. Apparently those who lived in the house weren’t aware of its log walls, and since the house was two story, I wonder how the roof of the cabin was concealed. (I realize how that the roof could simply have been taken off some of the log buildings when the clapboard and second story were added.) Log buildings were often covered with clapboard as families became more prosperous, or sometimes the house was built in front of the cabin which remained as an “el” at the back.

The house was removed to add a parking lot at First Baptist Church.

The cabin dates back to 1820, before Brandenburg was actually organized as a town, I think. It was several years before it became the county seat. The pictures showed an old newspaper of 1839. Unfortunately, what he sent was the picture page and the story was on another page. The date was not shown.

In asking around, I’ve learned that James Willie Bondurant and Zula Bondurant lived there for a time, maybe more than once. Besides their own family, students who lived pas all-weather roads in the lower end of the county sometimes boarded there and went to high school.

Jon also sent some emails. In one he said, “Reading about all this about the log house has zapped my memory a bit -- it’s needs all the zapping it can get anymore. It comes to me that maybe it was not reconstructed at Otter Creek immediately. John Rowe, who was director at Otter Creek at that time, may have more on that.”

The various emails, reminded Jon of another Meade County house. “I know that it often happens that log buildings just have clapboard nailed around them, I have in mind that whoever told me about it made it sound like the log part was sort of an inner room, with the ‘big house’ built around it. (Anna Frazier’s house is a bit like that, I think. Actually the log part of it, as I remember has outside walls on two sides with the ‘big house’ being in front and to one side.”

Since the Bondurant name popped up, I ask ATHS member Alice (Bondurant) Scott if she knew anything about the old cabin. Her reply email stated, “In answer to the questions of Harold Mix’s daughter in regard to the Cunningham house, I have come up with the following. To begin with, I knew Harold when we were both children, and played with him and his sister, Dorothy, when they lived in the Cunningham house. A complication of the story of their family, lies in the fact that another, much smaller, house was situated somewhat in front of the church. Harold’s younger sister indicates this week that the parents lived first in the vicinity of Addison, Kentucky, and Dorothy, their first child was born there. They moved to Brandenburg before Harold was born. It would appear that he was born in the smaller house. The sister who gave this information says that she was born in the smaller house. She is unsure about where the other two younger children were born. Then the family moved into the Cunningham house. My grandfather owned the house at the time. Several families lived in the Cunningham house during the years that my grandfather owned it. The Sam Ritchie family, the David Young family, and others lived there. Many students lived there with various families.”

Alice did mention a contemporary photo of the house existing, “The photo of the church with the Cunningham house nearby (from George Ridenour’s book, Early Times in Meade County), shows just a bit of the end of the house as I remember it.”

Alice knows of which she speaks because in another email, she stated, “I did live in it during World War II while my husband was at sea in the Navy. I was living there when our first child was born. The little I know about its history is this: My grandparents referred to it as the Cunningham house, naming members of the Cunningham family that they knew (from about the turn of the century). The house was next door to my grandparents. The next owner (probably about 1930), I remember was my aunt, Mrs. Emily Roberts, a widow who had roomers there. Then my grandfather, J.H. Bondurant bought it and rented it to my parents during the war. I came back there to stay with them during the war. My parents moved to another house, and I was out of state, so I lost track after the 50s. You are aware that it was a two-story house. Four main rooms, two up and two down, with a central hallway (probably a dog trot originally) formed the original building. An addition to the back was one-story, with five rooms, and a hall. When the house was moved to Otter Creek, the upper story was not kept, and the rooms are smaller that they were, I suppose because some of the logs were damaged and it was necessary to make the whole thing smaller. Of course, the addition was not kept. The exterior was white weather-boarding (planks), and it had a front porch with Victorian trim. There was a small back porch and a cellar under the addition. Many high school students lived there, girls staying in the large upstairs rooms in the years when students had to board away from home because of the distance, poor roads, and inadequate transportation. I can recall as many as four girls living in one of the larger rooms. I think that almost every owner kept roomers. Aunt Emily did, Mother did, and I think the Cunningham family did. I do remember the eleven rooms that were always a beehive of activity with various people, students, guests, etc. My sister, Peggy Bondurant, was married while our parents lived there. Peggy dressed in her white bridal dress and veil, and walked next door to the church for the ceremony. Many festive celebrations were a part of life in that house.’

Scott also mentioned, “One old story I was told was that on the day that General Morgan and his men came through Brandenburg to make their raid into the North during the Civil War, they came by that house. It was July and the woman of the house was making blackberry jam. She also had biscuits in the oven. The soldiers whiffed the good smells. Two stopped and asked for some. She ended up feeding many of them her jam and biscuits. This was first-hand story told in our family. I hope you are able to learn more than this, but maybe you can trace the ownership before the Cunninghams. That would be interesting.”

In another email, Alice wrote: “I will keep thinking of things, and I called my aunt who is in her 90s. She remembers the Cunningham family from her youth. She didn’t know anymore than I told you. However, I thought I might say that the house was near the road, very little front yard, but had a reasonable side yard and a garden in back. Also it had a chicken house and a shed. Many old-fashioned flowers were in the yard, roses, bleeding hearts, peonies, and others. Since it is next door to the Baptist Church, there be a possibility that it was a parsonage, but I have no factual info on that. The old Baptist Church that preceded Philips Memorial (now called First Baptist) stood back a little from the road, but was on the same site.”

Jon Whitfield returns, “As Alice describes it, I think it sounds much like the Crecelius house in Paradise Bottom. I visited there a number of times and I believe Mary Bondurant Jones stayed there when she helped with Bible School, as Mr. Craig had a story about that. Said that Mary was drinking water from the spring at dinner time and said she liked it, and Mr. Craig said, “Yes, but we have such trouble keeping the dogs out of the spring!”

Gee, we old-timers ramble on, don’t we? Anyhow, that was a two story log building with an enclosed dog trot in the middle. It is now a kitchen and rest room area of Doe Run Inn. Andrew Jackson is said to have stayed there (when it was still in Paradise Bottom).

Alice Scott also provided an article written by W. M. Boling concerning old houses in Meade County. Boling’s article gives very little information on any of the houses he mentions, but gives us a good starting point when he states, “The house now remodeled on the corner near the Baptist Church was the home of Sanford C. Malin, father of Mrs. Ina McGonigle and grandfather of Miss Ruth Mason McGonigle, both of Lexington.

Scott commented on May 13, 2001, “Remember that Bill Boling wrote in the Messenger about Sanford Malin living in the old house by the Baptist Church. Yesterday I found in Cap Anderson Cemetery the grave and monument of Sanford Malin and others of his family. His birth date was 1836 and his death was 1892. This doesn’t tell us much, except that he and his family did live in Brandenburg, during the 19th Century, and are buried here, reinforcing the bit of info we already have.”

So who was Sanford Milan? Materials on file at the Ancestral Trails Research Library in Vine Grove, Ky. indicate Sanford Milan was married to Henrietta Robinson of Meade County, Kentucky on Oct 14, 1863. By 1880 Sanford (age 43, occupation School Commissioner) and Henrietta (age 34) had a family that looked like stair steps. Son, James L. was 14 years old and working as a clerk. Two other children, J.P. (son, age 12) and I.V. (daughter, age 10) were attending school, while the three youngest children Lula (age 8), T.R. (son, age 5), and Frank (age 2) were at home.

Deceased Ancestral Trails member number 125 Margaret Phillips was a descendant of young Frank. Her five generation chart indicated Frank was born in Big Springs, Ky on Feb 21, 1878. Frank was apparently in this area at least until 1906, when he married Lucille Anderson Miller (born Jan. 27, 1884) of Hawesville, Ky. But by 1907, he was living in Ashland, Ky (on the West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio border) where Margaret Malin was born on June 25, 1907. She married William Rufus Philips on June 26, 1935.

Based on a combination of census information compiled by ATHS Member Wathena Miller and the family group chart of Margaret Phillips, we have to assume Sanford was living in Brandenburg at the cabin in question while operating a farm in the Big Spring area. This was not uncommon in those days. Sanford’s next door neighbors included some of the most respectable people in Meade County at the time, including but not limited to William Gough (County Court Clerk), James L. Malin (Merchant and possible brother to Sanford), Clinton C. Fairleigh (attorney), Enos Keith (County Court Judge), H.T. Kendall (County Attorney) and various merchants including Neal McMonigle, J.W. Richardson, William McIntire, O.C. Richardson, Jr., and druggist, William McIntire.

San for was the son of Isaac Ruble Malin (born 19 July 1812 - died Jan 15, 1870, Meade County, Ky.) and Juritta Collings (bord 8 Apr 1818 - died 24 Dec 1891, Meade County, Ky). Juritta was the daughter of Isaac Collings and Jinny Crawford. Isaac and Juritta were married 1 May, 1836. Since the house in question had newspapers dating back to the 1839 used in one of the early “remodels,” it is possible that Isaac and Juritta moved in soon after they were married. Isaac and Juritta both died in Meade County.

Isaac and Juritta had at least two other children, besides Sanford that we know of. The Robinson Cemetery in the Big Spring area of Meade County contains the following marked graves:

Henrietta Malin daug of IR and J d 4 Aug 1848, age 10 m 8 d.

William Wesley Malin son of IR and J d 20 Jul 1852, age 13.

Who occupied the house prior to 1836 may be answered by the church history of the First Baptist Church, Brandenburg, Ky as compiled by ATHS member Marie Coleman, Louise Coleman, and Dorothy Woolfolk. The booklet states, “the first congregation of Baptists in Brandenburg, Kentucky was organized Wednesday, February 11, 1829. The name given was Mount Pleasant. The first pastor was Simeone Buchanon.” Past readers of Ancestral News will recognize the name of Simeone Buchanon as a minister which started his ministry as a member of Mill Creek Baptist Church, now located on South Jones Street in Radcliff, Kentucky.

Let’s skip to 1838 and 1839. The church bought two lots adjacent to the log house in question to construct a meeting house. There is no evidence to prove this but since the date of 1839 was the date of some newspapers used in covering some of the interior walls during one of the early remodels, it may be possible that the old Log House at Otter Creek park may have been the first meeting house of the First Baptist Church. The cabin is larger than most dwellings of the period.

It’s only a possiblity. But as with most history projects, many questions still remain unanswered.

Newspaper articles used in the preparation of this article were provided by Brian Lewis, Naturalist at Otter Creek Park and Mary Bondurant Jones. John Rowe, retired director of Otter Creek Park also provided information.

All materials are on permanent file at the Ancestral Trails Research Library, Vine Grove, Ky.

Doris Shanks notes: I found this article on the internet publication, Ancestral Newsletter. The page has since been superseded by more recent articles. I will certainly return to this location in the event another ‘lucky find’ turns up.

Ancestral Trails Historical Society

URL: http://www.aths.com