Butler-Turpin Historic Home: Kentucky History Through Heirlooms
The Butler-Turpin Historic Home, located on the grounds of General Butler State Resort Park, provides a genteel window into the past and a lesson in Kentucky’s political and military history. Located just 45 minutes from Louisville, 60 minutes from Cincinnati, OH, and Frankfort, KY, and 90 minutes from Lexington, KY, the Butler-Turpin Historic Home is definitely worth a visit, especially when coupled with a visit to General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, KY.
Major Philip Turpin married into the Butler clan and bought 126 acres from Major General William Orlando Butler, a hero in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, a member of a distinguished military family and a vice-presidential nominee in 1848. (The state park and Butler County are both named for him.) On this land carved from Butler’s Grove farmstead, Turpin built a Greek Revival house with a breath-taking view of the Kentucky River Valley for himself and his bride, Butler’s niece Mary Ellen, in 1859. Mary Ellen’s father, Major Thomas Butler, William Butler’s brother, lived in the house with his daughter and son-in-law.
However, the Butler presence in that area of Carrollton dates back to 1797 when William Butler’s father, Percival, himself an officer in the Revolutionary War and an aide-de-camp to Marquis de Lafayette, bought the land in 1797 and built a log cabin on the land for his family. (A plaque marks the spot of the cabin, which burned in 1862.) The Butler-Turpin House contains displays on the heroism of Percival Butler and his sons, known in their lifetimes as “the gallant Butlers.”
The mansion is furnished in antebellum style and includes several Butler family heirlooms. All of the pieces date to the 18th and 19th century, and you’ll find beautiful furniture, linens and artifacts. Especially lovely is the piano in the house’s main parlor; it is the only piece that has been in the house since it was built in 1859. You will hear about the many Democratic Party political rallies and military encampments held on the grounds. You will also hear about when the land was a working farm, located near the confluence of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers.
The Butler-Turpin Historic Home is open from March through November. Tours are Wednesday through Saturday, at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.; and Monday and Tuesday, as staffing allows. Admission is free for children 5 and younger, $3 for children aged 6–12, $4 for senior citizens and $5 for other adults. The mansion’s grounds are open year round.
Visitors can tour not only the house but the outdoor summer kitchen and the recently restored Butler family cemetery, the final resting place of family members who died. The cemetery is located east of the mansion. Percival, William and Thomas Butler are buried there with their wives, as is Mary Ellen Turpin.
HelloMetro Tip: Remember: The Butler-Turpin house open by appointment only from December to February.
Posted on Feb 2, 2011 by Ivonne Rovira
