The Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse is a historic stone structure near Avoca Road near

Middletown, Kentucky Middletown is an independent, home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States, and a former neighborhood of Louisville. The population was 7,218 at the 2010 census. The city is also home to the main campus of the largest c ...

. Built about 1786, it is believed to be the oldest standing structure in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

, and was the site of the

Chenoweth Massacre The Chenoweth Massacre of July 17, 1789 was the last major Native American raid in present-day Jefferson County, Kentucky (Louisville Metro). Captain Richard Chenoweth, builder of Fort Nelson, was stationed with his family northeast of present- ...

, a 1789 Native American raid during the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwester ...

that was the last raid in Jefferson county. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1975. It is on privately owned land.

Description

The Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse is on land that is privately owned by the Rogers Group Inc, which operates the nearby active quarry that was developed in northeastern Middletown, in a wooded area off Avoca Road.Clay, "Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse"
8 March 2013, Landmark Hunters; accessed 26 March 2018 The springhouse is near the junction of two branches of Chenoweth Run. Since construction, it has been separated from the creek by construction of Avoca Road and a railroad spur line. The stone structure is two stories in height, built in 1778 on an embankment over a spring. It was fortified for defensive purposes. It is accessible either through a ground-level entrance on the lower level, or a secondary entrance on the upper level; the latter would have required a plank or other bridging means to access. The interior includes a loft space that is accessible only by ladder, as part of the defensive measures. The stone of the structure is rubblestone, that has in places been pointed as part of rehabilitation or maintenance.

History

18th century

Captain Richard Chenoweth was one of the first white settlers in what is now Jefferson County, in 1778. He acquired land in 1785 along the tributaries of Floyd's Fork in what is now Middletown but was then part of Virginia. There he built a frame farmhouse and the fortified stone springhouse. In 1789, during the

, a band of Native Americans attacked his home, killing three of his children and two soldiers in what European Americans term the

. His farmhouse was burned and both he and his wife were wounded, but they took refuge in the springhouse and held off attackers.

20th century

Volunteers from Historic Middletown, Inc began restoring the structure in July 1972. At the time the structure was part of the Massacre Trail, a hiking trek done by local

Boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

and

Girl Scouts Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

. In 1975 the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Infrastructure completed in 1786 1786 establishments in Virginia Kentucky in the Northwest Indian War Springs of Kentucky Spring houses Water supply infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Pre-statehood history of Kentucky Water supply infrastructure in Kentucky

Description

History

18th century

20th century

See also

References