Historic home demolished, recycled

 A historic Hodgenville home was demolished Friday, Oct. 19.

Keith Knight

The I.W. Twyman house at 211 West Water Street was demolished by contractor Joey McCoy. The property is owned by Bennett-Bertram funeral home.

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Keith Knight

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Linda Ireland

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Local funeral home operators Brad Turner and Todd Skaggs had been unsuccessful in their attempts to find a new owner for the I.W. Twyman home, built on West Water Street in 1889. 

The house was a beauty with intricately carved mantels, full-length porch supported by Doric columns, stained glass transom and yellow poplar millwork.

It held also some historic value as Twyman, a LaRue County lawyer and businessman, became a delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention of 1890-91. 

Turner and Skaggs, who operate Bennett-Bertram Funeral Home next door to the Twyman house, were willing to give the house to anyone who agreed to move it and pay an earnest deposit.

The pair purchased the 13-room house in 2007 from Albert Bennett. 

The owners wanted Twyman’s 3,500-square-foot home moved – in an intact condition – from the property so they would have room to expand the funeral home or for other uses.

Several people seemed interested until they learned it could cost about $100,000 to move the house.

With no takers in view, they contracted with Joey McCoy to have it demolished.

When the demolition started, several people “expressed their opinion” on the circumstance, Turner said.

“We’d been trying to give it away for five years,” he said. 

The demolition work uncovered a lot of termite damage inside the home. However, several items were recycled. The bathtub and appliances were donated to Habitat for Humanity. The doors, trim, stained glass windows and mantels also were salvageable.

“We tried to give it away to a good home,” said Turner. “We were able to give things (from the house) to people in need and that helps me sleep a little better at night.”

The Twyman house had a cellar that was filled in. The lot will be “allowed to settle for probably a year” before they determine how it will be used, Turner said.