Waveland State Historic Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Waveland
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 Location in Kentucky
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Lexington, Kentucky |
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| Built | 1845 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000342 |
| Added to NRHP | August 12, 1971 |
Waveland State Historic Site, also known as the Joseph Bryan House, is a cool historic place in Lexington, Kentucky. It features a beautiful Greek Revival style home and 10 acres of land. Today, it's looked after by the Kentucky state park system.
This site was once the home of the Joseph Bryan family and their relatives in the 1800s. Joseph Bryan's great-grandfather, William Bryan, was friends with the famous explorer Daniel Boone. They traveled west together through the Cumberland Gap. Joseph Bryan later became an early farmer here. He started a large farm, growing crops like tobacco and hemp. He also began to raise fast racehorses.
Contents
The Story of Waveland
The families of Daniel Boone and William Bryan first met in North Carolina. William Bryan married Mary Boone, who was Daniel Boone's sister. They had a son named Daniel Boone Bryan. Daniel Boone himself helped survey, or map out, the land in Kentucky that he would give to his nephew. This young man became known as a historian, explorer, and poet. Boone surveyed a huge area of about 2,000 acres, which was about six miles from where downtown Lexington, Kentucky is today.
Daniel Boone Bryan Settles the Land
Daniel Boone Bryan moved to and settled this land around 1786. The property was later named Waveland. This name came from how the fields of grain and hemp looked like waves when the wind blew through them. The area of Central Kentucky, called the Bluegrass Region, was a major producer of hemp and rope in the 1800s. When Daniel Boone Bryan first moved to his property, he built a small stone cabin.
Joseph Bryan Builds the Big House
Daniel Boone Bryan's son, Joseph, inherited Waveland. He built the main house of the farm between 1844 and 1848. Joseph married Elizabeth, and they had twelve children. Bryan decided to build a classic Greek Revival style house. He was inspired by the work of a Lexington architect named John McMurtry. Bryan hired Washington Allen, a well-known builder from Lexington, to manage the construction of his new home.
The house had a grand front porch, called a portico, and a large entry hall. The main front door of the mansion was designed to look just like a famous doorway in Athens, Greece. There were also porches on both sides of the house, offering views of the countryside. The rooms on the first floor were built to be fourteen feet high. This design helped keep them cooler during the hot summer months.
Like many large farm owners, Bryan made his farm almost like a small village. He had several small businesses on his property. For example, a gunsmith shop once employed twenty-five men. He also made saltpeter and gunpowder. There was a gristmill for grinding grain and a paper mill that also processed wood. A blacksmith shop and a distillery were also part of the farm. Kentucky was famous for its bourbon, a type of whiskey. Bryan managed all these businesses very well.
Bryan also set aside space on his farm for a Baptist church. He also had a private school for girls. At that time, Kentucky did not have public schools. They were only set up later during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War.
Joseph Bryan used many materials from his own farm to build the house. The wood was cut and prepared right at Waveland. The metal parts were made at his blacksmith shop. The bricks for the buildings were made from clay found on the land and baked in a kiln on site. Stones for the house's foundation and some decorations came from a quarry near the Kentucky River. To save money, Bryan had the stairway railing made from flat pieces of wood instead of rounded ones. His wife wanted expensive marble baseboards, but Bryan used cheaper stones and had them painted to look like marble.
Joseph Bryan's office was quite unique. It had seven doors, each for a different part of his life. One door led to the formal dining room, where he ate with guests. Another door went into the family living room, so he could be with his children.
One special door, which locked from his office, led to stairs for two rooms upstairs. He rented these rooms to travelers. Bryan made sure he could lock the travelers in for his family's safety. They could not leave their room until Bryan unlocked the door. This kept his family safe from being robbed or attacked at night.
Another door led outside to the back of the house and other buildings. This door also led to the fields where enslaved African Americans worked. This gave him quick access and easier ways to communicate with them. Another door from his office led to the road. Business people would arrive this way to see him. As a successful businessman, Bryan often had visitors. The last two doors were closets, which he used as safes for important items.
Before the Civil War, the Bryan family owned slaves. They had thirteen enslaved people: three women and ten men. The women did all the house work, like cleaning, washing, and ironing clothes. They also prepared food and cooked. Margaret Cartmell Bryan, Joseph's wife, made clothes for the enslaved people and for her own family. The invention of the sewing machine later helped her make clothes much faster.
The enslaved men worked on the farm. Each man had to take care of 20 acres of land. To save time traveling, the Bryans allowed the enslaved people to build houses on the land they worked. The enslaved people at Waveland had some freedoms that were not common for other enslaved people at the time. When they were not working, they could hunt for their own food. They were also allowed to buy and sell produce, meat, and other goods at local markets. They could keep any money they earned. Joseph Bryan even allowed the enslaved people to keep weapons. Their living quarters were built with two layers of bricks, making them better insulated than many other homes in Kentucky.
During the Civil War, Joseph Bryan supported the Confederacy. He gave them supplies like horses and food from his land. When the Union authorities found out, they tried to arrest him. Bryan escaped to Canada and returned years later after the war ended. The enslaved people at Waveland were freed at the end of the war. Most of them chose to stay and continue working for Bryan. He paid them for their work and charged them rent for their homes.
Joseph Henry Bryan and Horse Racing
Joseph Henry Bryan, one of Joseph Bryan's eleven children, lost his own house. So, he, his wife, and children moved back into Waveland with his father. Eventually, Joseph Bryan, Sr. moved out, and Joseph Henry Bryan became the owner of Waveland.
Joseph Henry Bryan was very interested in horse racing. He made Waveland one of the best farms in Kentucky for raising thoroughbred and standardbred (trotting) horses. Waveland produced some famous horses like "Waveland Chief," "Ben-Hur," "Eric," "Olaf," and "Wild Rake." "Wild Rake" was an amazing horse who never lost a race. He was sold to William Rockefeller for $7,800 in the 1880s. Joseph Henry Bryan also built a racetrack across from the mansion. He and other businessmen would watch the races from near the track. This was not considered a suitable place for women of their social class. So, Bryan's wife, daughters, and female guests would often go to the top floor of the house and watch the races with binoculars.
Joseph Henry Bryan loved to gamble. In less than seven years, he lost a lot of money. Another family member had to sell their home to try and help Joseph Henry Bryan keep Waveland. However, Bryan eventually could not pay his debts. His family never forgave him for this. He had to sell the house at an auction to try and pay off what he owed.
Salle A. Scott bought Waveland in 1894. She sold the property in 1899 to James A. Hullet. In 1956, the Commonwealth of Kentucky bought the house and about 200 acres of the original 2,000 acres. The house was bought for preservation, and the larger farmland was used by the University of Kentucky for research and experimental farming.
Waveland as a Museum
In 1957, Waveland was turned into a house museum. Its exhibits show what life was like in Kentucky from the early pioneer days up to the Civil War. Ten acres of land are included with the house. The house has been fixed up and furnished to show what life was like on a large farm in the 1840s. Furniture from that time period was donated to the site. Many of the smaller buildings that were once part of the farm did not survive over the years after the Civil War.
The buildings at Waveland today include the main mansion, decorated in the style of the 1840s. There are also four smaller buildings: the ice house, a two-story brick building that was the slave quarters, a barn, and a smokehouse.
Tours are given daily for most of the year. The tour guides dress in clothes from the 1840s. Tours include the historic house, the slave quarters, the smokehouse, and the ice house. They focus on the Bryan family and what life was like on a 19th-century Bluegrass Kentucky plantation.
- Kleber, John E. "Waveland." The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky, 1992. Print.
- Tapp, Hambleton. Waveland Home of the Bryans. Lexington, KY: S.n., 1956. Print.
- Young-Brown, Fiona. "Waveland State Historic Site, Lexington, KY".
