Crossfield, R. H., House

The house was built in 1865 by Richard Henry Crossfield. The Crossfield house is one of nine Anderson County two-story houses built during the same era and following the same modified Greek Revival pattern, that remains in good condition. The country setting of the house remains unblemished. R, H, Crossfield was one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the county and played an important role in Anderson County politics.

His son, R. H. Crossfield, Jr., who was born in this house in 1868, was a prominent theologian and served as President of Transylvania University in Lexington and William Woods College of Missouri.

R. H. Crossfield's father, Richard Henry Crossfield, was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, and settled in Woodford Canty (now Anderson), Kentucky. He built a log cabin two miles from Fox Creek, and five miles from Lawrenceburg, the county seat.

Richard Henry Crossfield, Sr., generally known as "Uncle Dick," was born in 1821 in the plantation cabin of his parents. Upon the exact site, and possibly retaining parts of the cabin, especially a rock chimney, he built his own house in 1865. This house was called "The Mansion" and was part of a 400-acre farm.

In McKee's History of Anderson County, R. H. Crossfield's house is described as one of the splendid farmhouses in Fox Creek. Fox Creek is pictured as a thrifty and desirable little hamlet, surrounded by lovely farms.

Crossfield was a successful farmer, churchman, philanthropist, and politician. He gave substantial sums of money to Transylvania College and The College of the Bible in Lexington, Kentucky. He served three terms as sheriff of Anderson County, one 4-year term as county judge, 1886-1890, and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1891. Crossfield died in 1908 and was buried in the century-old family cemetery located within view of the house.

Crossfield had twelve children. His namesake, Richard Henry Crossfield, Jr., was born and raised in "The Mansion" in 1868. He became one of Kentucky's, as well as Anderson County's, most famous theologians. He received an A. B. degree from Transylvania College an M.A, and a Ph. D. from Wooster College. He also held honorary degrees from Georgetown College, the University of Kentucky, and Transylvania College.

R. H. Crossfield, Jr., was elected President of Transylvania College in Lexington in 1918 and served in that capacity for thirteen years. He also served as President of William Woods College of Missouri for three years and was Executive Secretary of the Federal Council Churches of Christ in America for one year. He was a minister of Christian Churches in Kentucky, Virginia, and Alabama for many years.
Crossfield, Jr., wrote many articles and pamphlets, the best known of which was "Pilgrimages of a Parson," written in 1901, giving an account of the author's adventures in Europe, Egypt, and Palestine. Crossfield, Jr., died in 1951 and upon his death, a $5,000 R. H. Crossfield Scholarship Fund was created for Transylvania College.

The architectural distinction of the Crossfield House--the most pretentious in its rural area, although not far from Frankfort, the capital of the State-- is difficult to convey in photographs or words. Like the others of its type in Anderson and neighboring counties, it has a great deal of presence, owing partly to its considerable scale and rather vertical proportions and partly to the repetitive nature of the provincial Grecian ornament--no doubt derived ultimately from pattern books such as Lafever's, but given originality and force by the carpenter builder's free adaptation. The houses of this type in the area all show slight variations of detail and plan, but their essential similarity suggests not only a common builder but also his patrons' satisfaction with his conservative but functional version of the Greek Revival farm mansion.