A historic 1800s cottage, lovingly restored

Joy Hadden will tell you she has a love for bringing old Kentucky homes back to life. She and husband Reverend Steve Hadden have left their restorative mark across the state.

There was the two-story log cabin in Hardin County, the 1860s house on the Ohio River in Westport, and the 1870s Italianate four bedroom home in Midway.

“My husband saves souls and I save houses,” Joy said.

Her recent project is a historic toll house also in Midway. The 1,240 square foot, two bedroom, one bath cottage on 405 North Winter Street includes a living room, foyer, laundry, and eat-in kitchen.

The home’s provenance hearkens to the 1800s when Kentucky’s roads were privately owned and those who traveled the roads paid a toll for the privilege.

“This is an original toll house on the turnpike from Midway to Georgetown,” Joy said. “The gatekeepers who lived here, the Kerchevals, were given free rent in exchange for collecting the tolls and keeping the road up.”

Joy sleuthed out the 1872 deed for the toll house at the Woodford County courthouse. A framed copy hangs in the home’s foyer.

“I researched the property back to back to Deed Book One where it records the sale of this property in 1872 as the Old Toll House,” Joy said. “However it does mention that it had been leased and bargained for previously, so we don’t have a record of how old this home is for sure.”

After purchasing the home a neighbor suggested the best way forward was for the house to be bulldozed to the ground, but Joy’s determination and love for history prevailed.

Although the home was completely gutted and restored, much of the original charm remains in the way of heart pine floors and some of the tongue and groove ceilings and lap siding.

Plumbing, HVAC and electric systems were replaced and modernized and a new roof added. To maximize space and give a more logical flow, a porch was enclosed, some walls were moved and doorways were relocated.

The warmth of the heart pine walls that flank the original brick chimney in the master bedroom are a notable example of Joy’s sense of design and attention to detail. To allow for closets, the orientation of the fireplace was reversed and the original mantel was brought around to the other side.

“I designed my crown moldings and cut and hung them,” Joy said of her craftsman style millwork. She did much of the work on the house including hanging drywall, sanding and painting. “It’s a very solid little house to be so old.”

Entering from Winter Street, a quaint gated entry passes through a white picket fence to a peaceful covered porch overlooking an English garden.

The shops, restaurants and iconic rail line of historic Midway are a short ten minute walk down Winter Street. And the Holly Hill Inn restaurant is little more than a stone’s throw from the cottage in the other direction.

It was a dangerous business being a toll gatekeeper in the 19th century, and it’s surprising that this home has survived. The local population grew outraged about having to pay tolls – 30 cents for each loaded 2-horse wagon, 5 cents for each horse and rider, 3 cents for each head of cattle and so on.

In 1896 a mob of night riders carrying axes, shotguns and pistols destroyed toll gates throughout Woodford County. Gatekeepers were buggy whipped and threatened with tar and feathering, and some of the toll houses were set ablaze.

This story was originally published January 19, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "A historic 1800s cottage, lovingly restored."