Holt Home Community Day attended
by 600, minus snakes from soffit repairs

More than 600 people attended the Sixth Annual Holt Home Community Day with more than $2,600 donated to the preservation of the home of Joseph Holt, the first U.S. Judge Advocate General.

The crowd included a number of students from area schools, who were encouraged to attend the Sept. 27 event in Hardinsburg. Pupils from two local high schools were in attendance along with those from the Breckinridge County Area Technology Center.  According to Susan Dyer, Friends of the Holt Home president, interior and exterior tours of the circa 1850 structure were numerous and limited only by sufficient tour guides.

Dr. Elizabeth D. Leonard, Colby College associate professor of history, was guest speaker at the event. She is the author of “Lincoln’s Forgotten Ally,” a 2011 biography of Judge Holt. Remarks and greetings were provided by Breckinridge County Judge Executive Maurice Lucas. Other speakers included Craig Potts, executive director of the Kentucky Heritage Council.

The Holt House was constructed during the time of Judge Holt’s national service in Washington from 1857-1875. The Breckinridge County native served as Commissioner of Patents (1857), Postmaster General (1859) and Secretary of War (1860) under President James Buchanan before being named the nation’s first Judge Advocate General by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

 His most memorable role as JAG came when Holt presided over the 1865 trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators.

The Holt House and surrounding 19.5 acres were acquired by the Breckinridge County Fiscal Court in 2008. The 6,225-square-foot mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is undergoing extensive renovation.

Fund-raising efforts for restoration and preservation of the home is now in its seventh year and is coordinated by the Friends of the Holt House. Work currently is concentrated on the exterior of the mansion with recent activity involving installation of downspouts on the front of the structure. The downspouts are replicas of the originals.

A $500,000 grant is providing funds for the downspouts and for gutters, cornices, roof tiles and soffits.

Stewart Head, construction supervisor, said the roof was “in pretty bad shape” and when overhangs were repaired a few surprises were discovered in the form of snakes and bird nests.

“The snakes were after the bird eggs,” he said. “I’m not terrified of snakes, but when you’re 40 feet in the air in a basket, there’s nowhere to run.”

After three days, the snakes were gone.