Lovelace, Andrew, Jr., House
a.k.a. Old Lovelace Place
W of Lovelaceville off U.S. 62, Lovelaceville, KYTo the west of the village of Lovelaceville, Kentucky, on a hill overlooking the bottomlands of Mayfield Creek stands the Lovelace House, built between 1860 and 1866 for Andrew Lovelace, Jr. The residence eloquently states the position of Lovelace as the most prominent citizen of Lovelaceville and one of the most prominent in the country. The Lovelace House remains the finest nineteenth-century house in Ballard County, as well as the largest. In addition, it is the best evocation of the Greek Revival style in the county, displaying a more unified use of Greek detail throughout the house than any other structure. It is also important as a historical document because of its virtually unchanged condition, as there have been very few alterations made over the years.
The Lovelace family came from Rowan County, North Carolina, and settled in Butler County, Kentucky. The pioneering member of the family was Elias, a Revolutionary War veteran of the North Carolina State Militia. Along with Elias came his son, Andrew, and Andrew's wife, Rebecca. To Andrew and Rebecca was born a son, Andrew Lovelace, Jr. The whole family moved with Andrew, Sr., to the Lovelaceville area in 1820 where they built the aforementioned log structure. Andrew, Sr., "laid the foundation for a flourishing settlement, which sprang up a few years later, "! and became a prosperous farmer in the rich fertile lands that surround the area. He bequeathed to his son a considerable fortune which Andrew, Jr., increased greatly. In 1836, the village of Lovelaceville took on its present name; until that time it had been known as Sugar Creek. The name change honored the town's leading citizen, Andrew Lovelace, Sr.
Andrew Lovelace, Jr., had the present house built on four hundred acres of land, on a rise overlooking Lovelaceville and the surrounding area. As a farmer, he was quite prosperous and added to his considerable state as the leading merchant of Lovelaceville. In 1833, he married Miss Eleanor Ashley of Butler County, Kentucky, and raised a large family. One of his sons was Dr. James Madison Lovelace, a prominent physician in Ballard County who had studied medicine in Philadelphia, New York, and New Orleans. When Andrew, Jr., died, James received the house, which saw much activity.
The house remained in the Lovelace family until it was sold in the 1940s to Mr. William H. Ellis of Lovelaceville. The house is presently in the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Sternberg who are undertaking a thorough restoration.
As the foremost nineteenth-century structure in Ballard County, and as the home of some of the county's leading citizens throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, this house takes on great local significance.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.