1820
This remarkable commercial building was built for the brothers Samuel & Hector McLean, patterned on circa 1800 examples found in Philadelphia & Baltimore. Each ground floor room could serve a separate purpose, with the southwest room designed for the Bardstown Post Office, when all patrons called for their letters. On the 2nd floor, spanning the entire west end, the McLean brothers had a commercial ballroom, with elegant woodwork and dressing rooms. This rental space hosted galas, dances, and meetings, also fencing classes. An outside back stair gave access to the patrons, and the east side 2nd floor was living quarters, ultimately used by Wm. Rose Hynes, who acquired McLean house through a mortgage, and also owned the Talbott Tavern at the time of his death in 1837. The Hynes family was still in residence during the Civil War, when Union troops were billeted in the upper floors, and left unit rosters penciled on the plaster walls, adding to the graffiti, profile sketches, and Judge John Rowan's signature from an earlier time. The ground floor shops have hosted general merchants, cabinet makers with fine furniture, undertakers, and the local printer who produced the weekly paper in 1828. About the year 1890, County Judge J.W. Thomas converted the commercial ground floor to residential use for his family. Owners-in-residence continued after 1930 with the new title, The John Fitch Inn, where visitors occupied 2nd floor rooms in the new era of tourism. It was The Olde Inn under Mrs. Tom McKay through the 1950 - 1970 era and her famous antiques in the great corner room. Now, this remarkable double-door, corner entrance has witnessed the passage of famous visitors, legions of customers and patrons, both commoners and would-be kings, for nearly two centuries. Each step has served to wear the old stone threshold smooth. It marks well McLean House service to Bardstown.| HM Number | HM1ESY |
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| Tags | |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 at 5:30am PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16S E 634991 N 4185721 |
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| Decimal Degrees | 37.80891667, -85.46648333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 37° 48.535', W 85° 27.989' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 37° 48' 32.10" N, 85° 27' 59.34" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 502 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 105 E Stephen Foster Ave, Bardstown KY 40004, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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