SKETCHES OF PARIS

CHAPTER I.
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     The location or existence of Paris may be attributed purely to incident or accident.  No advantages, other than existed at an hundred other points, caused its creation.  No fort or block-house marked it as a desirable spot to locate at or about.  No speculator in town lots offered inducements, and the marshy and rough surface was certainly anything but suggestive of a town.  But it probably owes its location to the fact that a large spring of fine water burst forth near the mouth of Huston, and a heavy, steep hill was its heritage.  In those days Central Kentucky drew her mercantile supplies from Limestone (now Maysville), and the old State Road and the Road-wagon, were her line and means of transportation.  The wagoners, we are told, always aimed to teach this point by night, so as to rest their teams and in the morning with fresh steeds, and the help of others who might happen along, pull their heavy loads up the steeps.  This action of the teamsters caused the erection (about 1784) of a few huts for their accommodation and protection, and probably attracted a blacksmith and a few others who could reap a small gain from the patronage of masters of transportation.  The State road, in those days, came along the Buffalo Trace, crossing Stoner just below White & Alexander's present distillery, passing through the premises of C. S. Brent, Sen., caused Houston in front of Mr. Brent's present residence, passed over the ground where Dr. Keller's residence stands, up the hill through about the center of Bank Row, across the southwest corner of the Court House square, still bearing in a westerly direction, along Houston cliff, out in the direction of what is now known as Walker's Hill.
     Mr. Collins, in his History of Kentucky, says that Paris is located on the ancient site of Houston Station.  If there ever was such a "Station," it was not a place of much note, and certainly never very heavily fortified.  The fact that wherever a few houses were located in close proximity in those days, it was generally given a

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name, or designated as a "Station," may have authorized Mr. Collins in mentioning "Houston Station," in connection with Paris.
     Be that as it may, we find no data which will warrant us in stating that "Houston Station" was other than a very insignificant place and hardly worthy of space in history.
     The land upon which Paris stands to-day, was preempted by John Reed, of Maryland, 18th of November, 1784, and Wm. Galloway and Samuel Lyons, of Virginia, August, 1786.  Lawrence Protzman afterwards bought a portion of Reed's preemption, and had it laid off in town lots - calling the town a Hopewell.*  In accordance with the request of said Protzman, the Virginia Legislature passed the following act  in 1789:

     Be it enacted, That two hundred and fifty acres of land, at the Court house in Bourbon county, as the same are laid off into town lots and streets by Lawrence Protzman, the proprietor thereof, shall be established a town by the name of Hopewell, and that Notley Conn, Charles Smith, jr., John Edwards, James Garrard, Edward Walker, Thomas West, James Lanier, James Little and James Duncan, gentlemen, are hereby constituted trustees thereof.
     The Trustees of said town, or a majority of them, are authorized to make such rules and orders for the regular building of houses thereon, as to them shall appear proper.
     As soon as the purchaser of lots in the said town shall have built thereon, a house sixteen feet square, at the least, with a brick or stone chimney, such purchasers shall then be entitled to, and have and enjoy all the rights, privileges and immunities which the freeholder and inhabitants of other towns in this State, not incorporated, shall hold and enjoy.
     In 1790 the same Legislature passed the following amendment to the above:
     Sec. 1.  WHEREAS by an act of assembly passed at the last session, entitled 'an act to establish a town in Bourbon county,' two hundred and fifty acres of land at Court-house of said county of Bourbon, as laid off into lots and streets by a certain Lawrence Protzman, the then supposed proprietor thereof, was established a town b the name of Hopewell, of which Notley Conn, Charles Smith, Jr., John Edwards, James Garrard, Edward Waller, Thomas West, James Lanier, James Little and James Duncan, gentlemen were constituted trustees, and whereas since the passing of said act, many doubts have arisen who is the real proprietor of the said two hundred and fifty acres of land, and in consequence thereof the present holders of many of the said lots are disquieted, and the sale of the remainder thereof, thereby prevented.
     Sec. 2.  Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That
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     *Said by Mr. Collins to have been called Bourbonton, but we find no records to bear out the statement.

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from and after the passing of this act, the said two hundred and fifty acres of land, as laid off into lots and streets, shall be, and are hereby vested in the said Notley Conn, Charles Smith, Jr., John Edwards, James Garrard, Edward Waller, Thomas West, James Lanier, James Little and James Duncan, gentlemen, trustees, or a majority of them.
     Sec. 3.  The said trustees or a majority of them, shall proceed to sell such of the said lots which now remain unsold, at public auction, for the best price that can be had, the time and place of which sale to be previously advertised two months in the Kentucky Gazette,* and convey the same to the purchaser, their heirs and assigns; subject, however, to the same rules, order and conditions as the said lots are subjected to by the said recited act.
     Sec. 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid.  That said trustees shall, as soon as the said sale shall be completed, return an account thereof to the court of the said county of Bourbon, to be there recorded, and the money arising from such sale shall be retained by them for the use and benefit of the person or persons in whom the title to the said two hundred and fifty acres of land shall hereafter be established, to be paid to such person or persons, or their legal representatives accordingly; Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted, That in case the title of the said two hundred and fifty acres of land shall hereafter be established in any other person or persons than in the said Lawrence Portzman, the said trustees shall in such case convey such of the lots as were sold by him to the purchaser's thereof, in fee simple, and the purchasers or holders of such lots, shall be subject only to account with the real proprietor thereof, for the value of the same when originally purchased as unimproved lots.
     Sec. 5.  Be it further enacted, that from and after the passing of this act the name of the said town shall be altered, and from thenceforth the same shall be established by the name of Paris, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.
     By the above laws we not only get the facts of the origin of our present city, and its christening, but we learn that our forefathers were not exempt from vexations and trials, before the law, equal in their extent to those we bear.  The trustees, in accordance with the laws, proceeded to make sales, but the Legislature, in 1795, repealed the enactments and ordered the board to settled with John Protzman, who appeared and proved himself to be the purchaser of Lawrence's estate, and that the original claim was valid and good.  Numbers of lawsuits followed, but as their mentioning here would be tiresome and uninteresting to the reader, and occupy too much space, we desist.
     Several years before the Legislature passed the laws recognizing Hopewell, it had become quite a settlement, and as was the case in
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     * Published in Lexington

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those day, as well as in our day, new towns grew very rapidly.  A frame Court-house had been built and the records and the official papers of the great county of Bourbon, which then embraced what is now Harrison, Pendleton, Campbell, Kenton, Mason, Lewis and scores of other counties, within its almost boundless territory, had been deposited here, and residences, stores and small manufactories had been erected.
     The county of Bourbon, as we have intimated, was n almost boundless tract of land, and the choosing of a County Seat was no small matter, and the location of it at Paris, and the continuance of it here, may be set down as an unusual incident.  Before the selection of Paris as a County Seat, courts had been held at various residences throughout the county, viz.:  Governor Garrard's near Talbott's Station on the K. C. R. R.; Mr. James Hutchinson's, and at the residence of John Kiser, at the mouth of Cooper's Run, near Kiser's Station on the same railroad.  At a meeting of the court at Mr. Hutchinson's, held November, 1786, the following order was made:
     Ordered that the place for holding courts for this county be established at the confluence of Stoner and Houston forks of Licking, and that Alvin Montjoy, John Grant and James Matson, gentlemen, be appointed to procure two acres of land at said place for the purpose aforesaid, and, also, that they let to the lowest bidder the building of a Court-house, which shall be a frame of thirty-two by twenty feet, with a shingle roof and finished in the necessary manner, and a jail sixteen feet square, of hewn logs twelve inches square.             
                              Teste   JOHN EDWARDS, C. B. C.
     The building ordered above stood on the Court Square for ten or eleven years, and was sold to John Allen, who moved it to  his farm, on the left hand side of the Maysville pike about one and a half miles northeast of town.  The first court held in this house was on Tuesday, October 16th, 1787.  The following order made at the February court, 1797, fixes upon a successor of the above:
     The Commissioners appointed to draft a plan for a Courthouse, have proceeded to sketch out the present one, which they now offer for the consideration of the court, and have fixed on the center of the Public Square as the most convenient spot for the house to stand on.  Given under our hands this 20th day of February, 1797.  Signed, John Allen, John Metcalfe, Charles Smith and David Hickman, which is accepted by the Court.  And it is ordered that Charles Smith, James Duncan and Thomas Jones,

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gentlemen, be appointed Commissioners to let out, and superintend the building of the same, to the lowest bidder, alter the time and place has been advertised three weeks in the Kentucky Herald.*
     The Court-house that was destroyed by fire in 1872, and of which the above is an order for building, was begun in 1797, and completed, 1799.  The stone foundation was laid by "Old Stone Hammer" (Governor Metcalfe), and the building erected by John Metcalfe, an uncle of the Governor, and the carpenter work done by Mr. McCord.  This house was built to rival the great stone temple of justice at Lexington, and for years it was the pride and boast of the Bourbons, and in 1816, when the little box cupola was removed and in its stead the magnificent spire that went down in its ruins in '72, was erected, the heart of the nation was supposed to be happy.  Those of our citizens whose memories carry them back to that day, inform us that the boys stood and gazed upon this imposing structure with awe, and only ceased to look and wonder when their necks seemed to break with pain and their heads swim with the floating appear as a mere pigmy beside the grand county building of to-day.  The bell that hung in this steeple was purchased in Philadelphia by Hugh Brent, Esq., for $50.  It had seen service on the high seas and bore date of 1730.  The town clock was put on the steeple in 1835.  It was purchased by private subscription and cost $900.
     Since we have entered upon the history of these Court-houses, it may be proper to insert here the description of the burning of this last one, written by the late Mr. R. T. Davis, and published in the Kentuckian, May 15, 1872:
     "About ten o'clock Wednesday night, smoke issued from the Court-house, but as no danger was apprehended, and no particular attention paid to it, it was mistaken for clouds, but as the volume increased, and the smoke wreaths ascended faster, persons went over and on opening the door were horrified at finding that the interior of that ancient structure was in flames, and everything demonstrating beyond a doubt that some ruthless hand had applied the incendiary torch to our halls of justice.  The windows, which were open in the evening, were tightly closed by the vandal, in order that the flames might make such headway and eat so deeply into the vitals of the building as to defy all efforts to save it when the incendiary's work should be discovered.  Even the doors opening from the vestibule into the Court room were closed, and every precaution taken by the as yet unknown burner to prevent an early discovery that might thwart his infamous design.  When the inner door was opened an appalling sight met the view; everything combustible was rapidly
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     * First paper published in Paris

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falling a prey to the devouring element; huge flame-tongues were darting, hissing, lapping and blighting everything they touched; struggling as if obedient to a Fire King whose motto was "Elcelsior!"  And now broke forth upon the still night air the fearful cry of "Fire!" which soon brought crowds to the scene of conflagration, some manifesting deep concern, while by far the greater number looked calmly on.
     "The engine was soon brought into requisition, and our firemen bore down on the brakes manfully, with what appeared at first a prospect of success of subduing the flames.  But no sooner did a stream of water extinguish the fire in one quarter than it burst forth in another.
     Seeing that the old structure was doomed, the firemen ceased their efforts to save it, and directed their attention to the other buildings that were jeopardized by sparks and flying cinders, until the heat became so intense that those who manned the engine at the cistern, near the scene of the burning, were compelled to abandon their work, and, as they could do nothing more, drew off to watch the flames, which soon burst through the roof, and in a few moments fiery billows were roaring, tossing and seething around the base of the cupola, that symmetrical architectural work that towered aloft a "thing of beauty" and just pride of the Bourbons for more than half a century.
     "As the sheets of flames ascended, all eyes were directed to the old town-clock, whose hands pointed to 10:50, the hour at which it ceased its labor, and whose face had been familiar to us from childhood, and wore the same look for all - a look as tender for those in squallid poverty, as those in regal splendor.  Like a faithful sentinel it stood at its post and faced the fiery enemy until the supports gave way, and it was forced to yield to the fire-fiend who had decreed that with it "time should be no more."
     "When  the old cupola sank down into the bed of fire, many of the spectators gave utterance to an involuntary exclamation, and a beautiful young lady burst into tears when the dear old fabric disappeared from view forever.
     "There was more and heavier timber used in the construction of the edifice than one would have supposed, being erected at a period, when, to use the language of a friend, "timber was cheap and carpenters were honest."  The fall of the cupola, and the other lumber brought in its descent, filled the air with millions of sparks, that circled, eddied, whirled and danced through the atmosphere, making a scene grand and beautiful beyond beyond description, and the myriads of swallows that had been dislodged from their homes in the cupola, were confusedly darting hither and thither reminding one of the dove sent from the ark, seeking a place to rest its wearied wings but finding it not."
     [Mr. Davis followed the above with a speculation in regard to the building of a new Court-house, saying he was fearful that as the county was somewhat in debt, an indifferent structure would be erected; but he lived to see the magnificent and costly building completed, that no ornaments our Public Square.]
     He continues:  "The morning after the fire dawned bright and beautiful upon our city, but the beauty was marred by the sad spectacle presented by the ruins of the old buildings where the law had been expounded for three score and ten years.  Nothing was left of the old structure wherein audiences had

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listened with rapt delight to the eloquence of Clay, Marshall, Breckinridge, and others o the flower of Kentucky orators, but a shapeless mass of smoldering ruins.  True the old edifice was unsightly, and anything but a credit to a county possessed of so much wealth as Bourbon, but we deplore its loss, and say "Peace to its ashes."
     While we have been led off somewhat from what by some may be considered the proper channel, we may as well give the facts of the erection of our present magnificent Court-house.  It was commenced in 1873, and finished in 1874.
     The County Court was empowered by the Legislature to issue $100,000, in bonds, and to appoint Commissioners to superintend its construction.  The court accordingly issued the bonds and appointed Jos. Mitchell. Wm. Shaw and Geo. C. White as Commissioners, who well and faithfully fulfilled the trust confided to them.  John Atchison was chosen general Superintendent, while the carpentering was done by Thos. Pollock.  The foundation and stone work was done by McGrain, Woods & Farrell, and the stone furnished by Collins and Stevenson, from the Cane Ridge quarry.  The brick was made by Capts. J. M. Thomas and J. H. Bradshaw, and laid by G. W. Sidener and Robt. Ransdall.  The freestone work was done bv Finnigan & Son, of Cincinnati.  The galvanized iron and slate by Dunn & Witt, and the wrought and cast iron by M. Clements, of same city.  The plastering was done by Wm. Haye, of Paris, while the Plumbing was executed by T. F. Donnelly, of Lexington.  The painting and graining was done by Chas. A. Daugherty, of this city, and the tiling by M. Finnigan & Son, of Cincinnati.  The clock was made bv E. Howard & Co., of Boston, Mass., and the bell by Meneely & Kimberly, of Troy, N. Y.  The benches in the Circuit Court room were furnished by J. T. Hinton, and the chairs by Geo. W. Davis, both furniture dealers in this place.  J. J. Shaw, also of Paris, furnished the Registers and Furnace.  The following description of the building is taken from the Western Citizen of Oct. 30th, 1874.
     "The architecture is chaste and tasteful, surpassed by few public buildings in this country, and reflects great credit on the architect, Mr. A. C. Nash, of Cincinnati, who also ranks it as one of his most successful specimens.  The style of architecture is French 'renaissance.'  The building is of brick and elaborately and tastefully trimmed with freestone. The cornices are of iron, the roof covered with slate and gracefully topped out with an elegant and symmetrical tower, one hundred and thirteen feet above the ground line, in which is placed the clock and bell.  The building is three stories, and contains rooms for Circuit Court, County and Circuit Clerks and Sheriffs offices, and also offices for County Judge and County Attorney, jury rooms, &c.  Also

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the necessary fire and burglar-proof vaults for the safe keeping of all State and county papers.  The ground plan is one hundred and fifteen feet from front to rear and eighty-two feet across the wings, having a large and spacious hall from front to rear, the county offices being on each side.  The hall floors are of iron, concreted and laid with the best English tiling, in neat and appropriate patterns, the base being in Egyptian marble.  The hall is fifteen feet and four inches with width and is spanned at intervals with neat, plain arches, resting upon appropriate corbels, &c.  The stairways are of wrought iron, spacious and of handsome design.
     "On the second floor is situated the Circuit Court room; its dimensions sixty-two feet by sixty eight, with a gallery sixteen by sixty-two feet; the ceiling being twenty-eight feet six inches above the floor and neatly ornamented with a large ventilating center piece of stucco, also the angles, with walls and ceiling, coved and neatly finished; the walls blocked and colored in imitation of stonework.  The judge's stand, platform and canopy are of handsome design; gallery, front railing around the bar, the furniture, gas-fitting and heating are all in keeping with the design.  The room is, without exception, the handsomest Court room in the State."

     The first court held in the House was in October, 1874.  Judge J. D. Hunt of Lexington, presiding; J. E. Paton, Clerk, P. M. Miller, serving his second term, Sheriff; R. M. Kenney, (present sheriff) Jno. B. Northcott and J. Henry Butler, Deputies, and Jos. W. McCarney, Jailor.  The first county officers to occupy offices in this new building, besides those mentioned above, were Richard Hawes, judge of the county court, a man full of years and of honorable reputation, Russell Mann, county attorney, and Jas. M. Hughes, county clerk.
     The entire cost of this building - including interest on bonds of paid at maturity - will be about $125,000.