The Commission utilizes national preservation standards adapted for La Grange's specific character. More About the Two Distinct Historic Districts of La Grange, KY
1. CENTRAL LA GRANGE HISTORIC DISTRICT
The Central La Grange Historic District encompasses much of the historic portion of the City of La Grange and provides an excellent picture of what the community was like at the height of
its dev
elopment in the early years of the twentieth century. It includes residential, governmental, religious, and transportation-related resources. La Grange's historic character is derived from its role as a county seat and as a railroad community. The present appearance of the central district is still very much dominated by the courthouse square and the railroad which, with its track slicing down the center of Main Street and its long trains passing regularly through town, provide a strong visual presence. In terms of community planning, development and transportation, the district is significant for providing a good example of a nineteenth century Kentucky town whose growth and development were determined by its status as a county seat and as a railroad town. A large portion of La Grange's original fifty-acre tract within the district is evident in its gridiron street plan, which so often identifies communities that were planned as county seats. Its large courthouse square, prominently situated on high ground near the center of the community, is typical of such towns. The presence of historic commercial and residential properties surrounding the square provides an important example of typical early courthouse-town development. This mix of building types has been lost over the years in many towns as centrally located early residences have been lost to commercial development. In terms of architecture, the district is significant for its large intact collection of buildings that document the typical styles, types, forms, building materials, and methods of construction that were found in La Grange during the century spanning circa 1840 to 1938. These buildings provide representative examples of modest residential, commercial, governmental, religious, and transportation-related structures in Kentucky's Outer Bluegrass region. The large number and variety of historic structures in the district make it significant as a record of small-town architecture of the 1840s through the 1930s. LaGrange's residential architecture provides both unusual and typical examples of modest dwellings that illustrate how national styles and forms were adapted to the needs and tastes of a small Kentucky town. The district's dwellings provide examples of vernacular houses with Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic Revival influences; of a variety of Victorian house types and styles, including Princess Anne-style dwellings and T- and L-plan cottages with sawn and spindlework porch detailing; of American Foursquare and Bungalow/Craftsman style houses; and of a very few Colonial Revival-influenced structures including Cape Cod cottages. Wood is the pervasive building material used in residential construction, employed both structurally and decoratively in the framing, siding, and detailing of nearly all the houses in the district. Limestone or concrete block is typically used for foundations, brick for chimneys, and stone and concrete block are utilized infrequently for veneer sidings and porch detailing. Very little is known about the design sources for the buildings in the district. Names of architects and builders that can be associated with individual structures are very limited. The modest vernacular character of the majority of the buildings suggests that most were constructed by contractors whose main design sources were pattern books. Of the many builders who worked in La Grange over the years, only six can be definitely connected with specific buildings in the district. Frank Carter's name is incised into the steps of the J. Wood Yager House, which he built in 1910 at 500 Kentucky Avenue. Ratcliffe, known to have been a builder at one point in his career, constructed two houses for his family, the first about 1905 at 302 East Main Street, and the second about 1910 at 308 West Main Street. William Wasson built 313 West Madison Street about 1910, and 402 and 406 Kentucky Avenue in
1937. Marshall Stivers is responsible for 308 Fourth Avenue, and 207 and 301 Fifth Avenue, all built about 1915. Kirby Ford lived for a few years in a house he built about 1918 at 108 Fifth Avenue. The Waldo Trigg House at 420 Kentucky Avenue was built in 1836 by Mr. Stoess, of nearby Crestwood, Kentucky. Downtown LaGrange, despite suburban pressures and sprawl, continues to be a vital center. Government and citizens groups are interested in planning for a future that respects the past. The question that the community faces is how to manage the quality of change. The design guidelines provide direction for development that respects the heritage of La Grange and preserves it for the future.
2. RUSSELL COURT HISTORIC DISTRICT
Russell Court is significant as one of two early twentieth century subdivisions in La Grange, platted and developed specifically in response to the arrival in the community of a commuter
rail line from Louisville. It was a response to La Grange's early twentieth century prosperity. Most other residential developments in LaGrange grew incrementally as streets were extended and lots were sold. Only here and in the French and Head subdivision along Fifth and Sixth Avenues (included in the Central La Grange Historic District) did developers attempt to create a distinct residential environment set apart from the rest of town by prominent entrance gates. The very intact setting of the district, with its historic sidewalks, gates, alleys, street trees, outbuildings, and yards that merge together to create a park-like setting, provides a good example of an early twentieth century subdivision in La Grange and Oldham County. The layout of the neighborhood with streets that have no outlet, the substantial entrance gates, and the subdivision name, Russell Court, suggests that the developer intended to model this neighborhood after the fashionable courts in nearby Louisville and Lexington that had been
popular since the late nineteenth century. No doubt Russell hoped that the sophisticated court plan of his subdivision might attract big-city residents who were contemplating a move to La Grange because of the newly completed interurban rail line. Russell Court is particularly significant because of this court plan. It provides an excellent small-town interpretation of this popular urban residential plan and, except for the smaller French and Head subdivisions in the Central La Grange Historic District, is the only example of such a development in very rural Oldham County.
