The Locust Grove Antiques Market

June 29th, 2014


Construction on the brick house at Locust Grove began in 1790. It’s the centerpiece of the historic property, which hosts the antiques show twice a year. The house, outbuildings, and visitor’s center are open during the show.


The parlor on the second floor of the main residence at Locust Grove features a replica of the wallpaper originally used in the room. The Federal furniture and accessories in the house are intended to show how the dwelling might have been decorated in the 1810s, when George Rogers Clark lived there.


This English painting of dogs, oil on board, circa 1900, was $495 from Inez Allen and Nan Donovan of City Mouse Country Mouse Antiques, Cincinnati, Ohio.


With a bold cobalt stencil that promotes both the merchant, W.W. Field of New Albany, Indiana, and the maker, J.H. Miller of Brandenburg, Kentucky, this one-gallon wax-seal canning jar was $7500 from Jerry A. McKinley of Shelbyville, Kentucky.


Dating to probably the 1920s, this pine sawbuck desk wasn’t the oldest piece of furniture in the show, but it had an interesting provenance, coming from the estate of actress Mary Pickford. It was priced at $550 from Larry Lewis and Christopher Warne of Big Creek Antiques, Clay City, Kentucky.


Dealers set up under the cover of mature shade trees adjacent to the house at Locust Grove.


Among the few Arts and Crafts items at the show was this oak desk by Stickley Brothers, Grand Rapids, Michigan, marked with a branded label and paper tag, at $950 from John Connelly of Dreamlight Antiques, Louisville, Kentucky.


In cherry, this Hepplewhite slant-lid desk of Massachusetts origin, circa 1790, was $3750, while the fruit-pattern platter, probably Clews, was $750 from Judson and Karen Fults of Lakeview, Ohio. “We’ve had two sets of parents buy desks for their teenage kids,” said Karen Fults. “Young girls just love them.”

Louisville, Kentucky 

The comment came midway through the Locust Grove Antiques Market, held June 29 in Louisville, Kentucky. A shopper turned to a friend and said, “The setting is fabulous.”

It’s the setting that makes this a destination show, attracting shoppers from some distance. The antiques aren’t bad either. Now in its 35th year, the semiannual fundraiser, held the last Sunday of June and September, features about 100 dealers set up outdoors. Proceeds go toward restoration of the historic property.

A National Historic Landmark, Locust Grove sits on 55 rolling acres south of the Ohio River, part of the original 694-acre farm established by William and Lucy Clark Croghan in 1790. Lucy’s brother was George Rogers Clark, who founded Louisville and is best remembered for his role as the Revolutionary War general who captured the Northwest Territory from the British. William Croghan and Clark were also surveying partners. In 1809 Clark suffered a stroke and fell into a fire, burning his leg so badly it had to be amputated. That same year he moved to Locust Grove, where he spent the last nine years of his life, cared for by his sister’s family.

Among the visitors who walked through the doors of the Georgian three-story brick mansion over the years were three U.S. presidents, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Zachary Taylor. Other American dignitaries included Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (the latter also a sibling of Lucy Clark Croghan and George Rogers Clark), who stopped at the estate following their Corps of Discovery expedition.

In addition to the main dwelling, the property features the original smokehouse and eight other stone and log farm buildings; formal quadrant gardens; herb, perennial and annual beds; woods; and meadows. As a whole, the site bespeaks of frontier life in Kentucky—not just of the opulence of the wealthy, as seen in the home and its furnishings, but also of the slaves who tended the farm and cared for the needs of the Croghan family.

Described as the finest house built in Jefferson County, Kentucky, in the late 18th century, Locust Grove remained in family hands until 1878 when it was sold to a riverboat captain, James Paul. In 1883 the property changed owners again, purchased by Richard Waters. It remained in his family until 1961, when Jefferson County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky acquired the site.

Extensive restoration was required to return the property to its former glory. Locust Grove opened to the public in 1964. Over time the furnishings were refined, most recently in a major research and restoration project during the past three years that sought to make the site more authentic.

The revamping was appropriate. The prior decorating scheme was more rustic, not fully taking into account the Croghans’ wealthy status, according to Carol Ely, executive director of Locust Grove.

“We knew we had a somewhat dated restoration,” she said.

The interior paint was updated in some rooms, reflecting the discovery that verdigris was used, a sign of wealth at the time. Wallpaper in a second-floor parlor was reproduced to match the original pattern there, while an analysis of other rooms turned up glue paste, a sign those areas had once been papered. Wallpaper appropriate to the time was added.

The house has been furnished with items that would have been in place in the 1810s, when Clark was living there. The emphasis is Kentucky furniture, with a few items from Virginia and the East.

A visitor’s center provides additional information about the property, the family, and the times. Included are interactive and hands-on displays.

For the antiques show, a yard shaded by mature hardwoods is lined with dealers who bring a concentration of American country antiques and a fair amount of silver. Nonetheless, the mix can be quite varied, including a few contemporary collectibles, such as a Mickey Mouse alarm clock. In large part, however, the focus is on better antiques.

Among those items was a one-gallon wax-seal canning jar, salt-glazed with a bold cobalt stencil for merchant W.W. Field of New Albany, Indiana, and maker J.H. Miller of Brandenburg, Kentucky. It was tagged $7500 from Jerry A. McKinley of Shelbyville, Kentucky.

Silver was a natural item to see because of the Kentucky connection. The best pieces included a late 19th-century Gorham sterling silver 13" high agricultural presentation trophy having a design of two farmers and a horse-drawn plow, the base decorated with ears of corn, at $5750; and a silver presentation tea or coffeepot with a strawberry motif, inscribed as a gift to “S.T. Douglass, Sup. Ct. Mich., From the Bar of Detroit, 1857,” $2200 from Jerome Redfearn of Georgetown, Kentucky.

Furniture included a Hepplewhite slant-lid desk in cherry, Massachusetts origin, circa 1790, the height of the writing surface indicating it was used by a clerk who sat on a stool, priced at $3750 by Judson and Karen Fults of Lakeview, Ohio.

Other items were affordable to almost anyone, such as 18th-century wooden-handled choppers with wrought-iron blades at $55 each from Tom and Becky Jankowski of Harmony Antique & Candle Company, Evansville, Indiana.

In addition to the antiques offered by the dealers, Locust Grove had a book sale featuring out-of-print titles, from antiques reference books to histories and architectural handbooks to gardening guides.

The show has changed some during its 35-year run. Promoter Rod Lich said the first event included a dealer party with seven kegs of beer and a bluegrass band. Over time the number of kegs decreased, the band was eliminated, and the party was abandoned. Dealers got older, and the show matured.

It’s still a good time, no alcohol necessary. Even if the antiques weren’t worth the drive (although they were), the historic site merits the cost of admission. Locust Grove encourages visitors to tour the grounds. As Ely noted, “There is much more interest from people who love antiques and who love history.”

The Locust Grove Antiques Market returns to Louisville on September 28. For more information, contact Lich at (812) 951-3454 or visit (www.parrettlich.com). For information on Locust Grove, phone (502) 897-9845 or visit (www.locustgrove.org).


Originally published in the September 2014 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2014 Maine Antique Digest

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