“Go West, Young Man”

Posted in Famous Kentuckians, Uncategorized on 08/31/2010 01:34 pm by James J. Holmberg

Jacob Lee at his curatorial station.

That famous advice dispensed by 19th century newspaperman Horace Greeley for young Americans to head west as the tide of Manifest Destiny swept across the Great Plains to the Pacific is being followed today by one of our own. After five years and eight months at The Filson, today is Jacob Lee’s last day. Jacob first came to The Filson as an undergraduate intern from the University of Louisville for the spring 2005 semester. Working on his degree in history, with an emphasis on American history, Jacob was a natural researcher and cataloger from the outset. His inquisitive and intuitive nature for the work and history made him an excellent addition to the Special Collections Department staff. When that internship ended and he entered graduate school, working on a master’s degree in American history, he received a year-long internship. When that ended he was awarded a Boehl Internship. We clearly wanted to keep the young man around! With an opening in the department looming on the horizon, we hired Jacob part-time, positioned to join the department full-time. On September 1, 2006, Jacob joined the staff as a special collections assistant; later being named an associate curator.

Jacob and Col. Reuben Durrett.

Jacob has worn a number of hats in fulfilling departmental and Filson duties. From monitoring researchers and answering research queries to all aspects of cataloging and supervising interns – even hanging the occasional portrait – he has handled his responsibilities with ability and professionalism. A list of the collections he’s cataloged would be lengthy, but some of the largest and most historically important are those from the 19th century. The Speed Family Papers and the Beatty-Quisenberry Family Papers are two wonderful and frequently used collections that bear the Jacob Lee stamp of excellence. Those who read The Filson newsmagazine, our quarterly journal Ohio Valley History, The Filson’s blog, or attend Filson staff lectures know him well. His work has always been thorough, accurate, and well-written. It has been a pleasure to see him develop into a first-rate curator and promising historian.

Jacob and his cousin, Philip Lightfoot Lee.

Jacob will be missed by his Filson colleagues and many others as he heads west to the University of California at Davis to pursue a PhD in American history, but we certainly wish him happiness and great success. We send him off with thanks and best wishes and even though Thomas Wolfe opined that “You can never go home again,” Jacob can rest assured that he’ll always have friends here at The Filson who would indeed be happy to see him return home to Kentucky, and maybe to The Filson, some day. Read the rest of this entry »

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Reflections on Gettysburg

Posted in Uncategorized on 08/25/2010 03:25 pm by James J. Holmberg

Statue of General Gouverneur Warren atop Little Round Top

My family and I recently returned from a visit to Pennsylvania. While there we took the opportunity to revisit the Gettysburg National Military Park (having last been there in 1996). Anyone who has ever been there knows what a moving experience it is.

North Carolina monument along Seminary Ridge looking toward Cemetery Ridge.

Touring the museum, viewing the restored Cyclorama, and of course driving and walking over the field (with camera in hand) that witnessed so much death, destruction, and heroism on those three July days in 1863 brings home the sacrifice and loss the soldiers and their families endured. The battle is considered the “high water mark” of the Confederacy. After this defeat, Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was largely on the defensive until the end of the war almost two years later. It was an accidental meeting on a field of neither commander’s choosing that became one of the most famous and important battles in history.

The Union line along Cemetery Ridge.

The battlefield today is revered by many, and the National Park Service and the Gettysburg Foundation do their utmost to preserve this hallowed ground. Time has brought change to some areas of the field, while others remain very much the same. Its preservation and improvement are ongoing goals. If you haven’t visited Gettysburg, please put it on your “bucket” list. If you have, you most likely will be drawn back again to absorb and appreciate the sites and atmosphere from this epic battle that very likely changed the course of history.

View from the Union line on Cemetery Ridge.

Read the rest of this entry »

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The Secrets of Houses

Posted in Then and Now on 08/17/2010 03:21 pm by Amy Jackson

I recently read a compelling graphic novel, Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft. In it, three children are subjected to the trauma of their father’s violent death and journey across the country with their mother to start over with their lives. The destination: their father’s childhood home, Keyhouse, a rambling manse with secrets. If you turn a special key and go through a certain doorway, you may turn into a “ghost,” able to roam free of your corporeal body. And that’s just one of the many keys, and the many doorways (find out more about Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s Locke and Key at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locke_&_Key). 

The twists and turns in this story led to thoughts on the Ferguson Mansion, still a relatively new work environment for me. People who visit The Filson often comment on how wonderful it must be to work in such a beautiful house. It’s true that there are many physical components of the house to absorb that are wonderfully appealing. What is also intriguing, however, is the history of this house, a place that has contained both families and a funeral home.

The Specially Sized Elevator

The biggest contrast in levels can be found between the first floor and the basement. The first floor contains carved mantels and sideboards, a mural that winds around the dining room, and portraits on almost every flat vertical surface. Here is where important family events took place from 1905 through the 1920’s, such as Margaret Ferguson’s wedding. Children ran through here, dinners were eaten here, parties were held here.

The basement, on the other hand, is a basic space that houses a kitchen, lockers, a lounge. It is here that I feel the echoes of the former Pearson’s Funeral Home are strongest. As I warm up water for my tea in the kitchen, I recall that the employee dining area was once designated for embalming bodies. Kelly Brennan, a Fellow who researched the changing processes of the funeral industry, was excited to learn that the elevator was purposefully created to hold coffins.

Any place where human beings have lived and worked for so long inevitably houses secrets. Working in a place with such an extended history, the Ferguson Mansion, is a wonderful process of discovery where the marvelous and macabre blend.

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The Southern Exposition

Posted in Uncategorized on 08/10/2010 03:36 pm by Cassie Bratcher

The Louisville Exposition - A Wondrous View

[From an article written by Kathryn A. Bratcher and published in Volume 4 Number 4 of The Filson Magazine]

An exposition to be held in Louisville was the idea of the Louisville Board of Trade to show the world that Louisville was ready to claim her place in the trade market. The Southern Exposition opened on August 1, 1883. Admission was 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children under twelve, with a 25 cent admission for all on Saturdays. The popularity of the Southern Exposition allowed it to re-open for several years until it ended in 1887.

The Exposition’s main building was a large two-story wooden and glass structure designed by McDonald Brothers and Curtain that covered approximately 12 acres. The building was divided into four large sections that included interior courts with large windows for light, and a fountain in the center of each court. The trade exhibits were featured around the perimeter of the main building.

In addition to the main building there were several outbuildings that featured more curiosities for people to explore. One of them was a large art gallery built in Central Park which held masterpieces from many famous international collections. The Exposition’s agricultural department presented a farm and garden of about 3 acres and identified the trees in Central Park with labels. The police and fire departments for the Exposition were also located in Central Park, and a police substation still exists there today.

View of the Buildings at the Southern Exposition

The use of electricity made the Southern Exposition the first successful nighttime exposition in the country. The exhibition grounds, main building and art gallery were illuminated by electric lights made by the Edison Company of New York. The courts and parks were illuminated by Jenny Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, which allowed for late afternoon and evening entertainment.

The Filson Historical Society is fortunate to have several rare artifacts and items from the Southern Exposition in its collections.

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Norman Kohlhepp, Renaissance Man

Posted in Browsing the Collections on 08/03/2010 07:59 pm by Robin Wallace

Norman Kohlhepp

University of Cincinnati Track Team, Normal Kohlhepp Second from the Right

Currently being processed in Special Collections are the papers and photographs of Louisvillian Norman Kohlhepp (1892 – 1986).  Kohlhepp was a multi-talented individual who excelled in the fields of science, art  and education.  A graduate of Louisville’s Manual Training High School, he went on to obtain a degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Cincinnati.   After graduating, he worked for the General Fireproofing Co. in Boston, MA, a manufacturer of steel office furniture.

In 1917, Kohlhepp enlisted in the armed forces and served in the “Reserve Mallet” in World War I – a transport unit that was created as part of the French Army but later became part of the United States Army’s Transport Service.  He also trained other mechanics during his time in France.  Kohlhepp remained in Europe until 1919 when he returned to Camp Taylor and was demobilized from the Army.

Already skilled at mechanical and scientific rendering, in his mid-thirties Kohlhepp began to seriously pursue the fine arts.  During further visits to France, he founded the American Students and Artists Club in Paris, where he met his future wife, Dorothy.  She encouraged his artistic inclinations and Kohlhepp began his studies at the Académie Colarossi and Académie de la Grande Chaumière.   Kohlhepp and his wife also studied with Andre Lhote, the cubist painter.

Kohlhepp whole-heartedly extended his support to the Louisville arts community and was active in the Art Center and the Louisville School of Art.  His work resides in collections at the University of Louisville, The J. B. Speed Art Museum, The National Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution.

The Kohlhepp photo collection contains over 200 negatives and prints, highlighting his time at the University of Cincinnati, the General Fireproofing Co., the war years in France, and his travels abroad in later decades.

The Kohlhepp papers contain correspondence from his parents while he is attending UC,  his senior thesis and supporting articles, and material from his time in the army, including his note books on automotive repair and maps of various sections of France.  The collection also includes financial papers and work correspondence from the 1920s to the 1940s, and a 1983 copy of Beaux Arts features an article about Kohlhepp and his artwork.

Scrapbook of Photographs from the General Fireproofing Co.

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