The House is a two-story, five-bay, Federal style building made of brick. It presently has ten interior rooms. When first built, there were only five rooms and a 20-foot-long (6.1 m) hall. These were three 20-by-20-foot (6.1 m × 6.1 m) rooms and hall on the first floor, and on the second floor a 60-by-20-foot (18.3 m × 6.1 m) ballroom and another 20-by-20-foot (6.1 m × 6.1 m) room. As there were still fears of attacks by Native Americans when the structure was built, there are no windows on the sides of the building.[3]
The property has seen various changes over the years. In 1890 the interior staircase was replaced. The original kitchen, servants' quarters, and white-column front porch are no longer present. A double-brick stairway takes the place of the porch.[4] In 1964, additions were made for the continued use of the Clark family.[5]
History
The structure was built in 1820 by William First, an immigrant from England believed to be a cabinetmaker. His surname was later altered to Forst. He built the home to show his expertise in millwork and mantels.[6] In November 1861, the Confederate Sovereignty Committee met at the house. Its 116 delegates from 65 Kentucky counties voted to secede from the Union, although the state capital at Frankfort chose to stay in the Union. While meeting at the house, the delegates elected George W. Johnson to be the Confederate governor of Kentucky.[7]
From 1922 to 1942 the house was used as a funeral home, under the ownership of Wister C. Clark. His widow turned the ballroom into apartments in 1960, and the first floor was used as a law office by her son and his law partner.[8]
Clark, J. Granville (1973). William Forst House NRHP Form. Russellville, Kentucky.
Cronan, Mary (1976). Russellville Historic District NRHP Form. Russellville, Kentucky: Kentucky Heritage Council.
Kleber, John E. (1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN0-8131-1772-0.
January 07, 2023
william, forst, house, also, known, clark, house, first, clark, house, historic, house, located, russellville, historic, district, russellville, kentucky, built, 1820, made, history, between, november, 1861, site, where, confederate, government, kentucky, form. The William Forst House also known as the Clark House and the First Clark House is a historic house located in the Russellville Historic District of Russellville Kentucky Built in 1820 it made history between November 18 and 20 1861 as the site where the Confederate government of Kentucky was formed 2 3 It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since July 19 1973 1 William Forst HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtContributing propertyShow map of KentuckyShow map of the United StatesLocation175 W 4th St Russellville KentuckyCoordinates36 50 42 N 86 53 21 W 36 84500 N 86 88917 W 36 84500 86 88917 Coordinates 36 50 42 N 86 53 21 W 36 84500 N 86 88917 W 36 84500 86 88917Built1820Architectural styleFederalPart ofRussellville Historic District ID76000919 1 NRHP reference No 73000816 1 Significant datesAdded to NRHPJuly 19 1973Designated CPJuly 14 1976 Contents 1 Description 2 History 3 Notes 4 ReferencesDescription EditThe House is a two story five bay Federal style building made of brick It presently has ten interior rooms When first built there were only five rooms and a 20 foot long 6 1 m hall These were three 20 by 20 foot 6 1 m 6 1 m rooms and hall on the first floor and on the second floor a 60 by 20 foot 18 3 m 6 1 m ballroom and another 20 by 20 foot 6 1 m 6 1 m room As there were still fears of attacks by Native Americans when the structure was built there are no windows on the sides of the building 3 The property has seen various changes over the years In 1890 the interior staircase was replaced The original kitchen servants quarters and white column front porch are no longer present A double brick stairway takes the place of the porch 4 In 1964 additions were made for the continued use of the Clark family 5 History EditThe structure was built in 1820 by William First an immigrant from England believed to be a cabinetmaker His surname was later altered to Forst He built the home to show his expertise in millwork and mantels 6 In November 1861 the Confederate Sovereignty Committee met at the house Its 116 delegates from 65 Kentucky counties voted to secede from the Union although the state capital at Frankfort chose to stay in the Union While meeting at the house the delegates elected George W Johnson to be the Confederate governor of Kentucky 7 From 1922 to 1942 the house was used as a funeral home under the ownership of Wister C Clark His widow turned the ballroom into apartments in 1960 and the first floor was used as a law office by her son and his law partner 8 Notes Edit a b c National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 Kleber p 222 a b Clark Sec 7 p 1 Cronan Sec 8 p 13 Clark Sec 7 p 1 Cronan Sec 8 p 13 Cronan Sec 8 pp 6 7 Clark Sec 7 p 1 Sec 8 p 1 Clark Sec 7 p 1References EditClark J Granville 1973 William Forst House NRHP Form Russellville Kentucky Cronan Mary 1976 Russellville Historic District NRHP Form Russellville Kentucky Kentucky Heritage Council Kleber John E 1992 The Kentucky Encyclopedia University Press of Kentucky ISBN 0 8131 1772 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Forst House amp oldid 1122659006, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
