Local Color of Estill County
By Laura Harvey Riddell Tuttle

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Contributed to the Estill Co., KY Archives by:
Jen Bawden
Originally published in the ECHGS newsletter.
Used here with their permission
Date: 05/19/1999
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Note from Jen:  I don't know when it was written and there may be
mistakes that later research show.


I have been asked to tell about some "local color" which perhaps
will not be known after I die as I am the only one of my family or
connections left here. I guess the logical place to begin is to identify
myself - not that I'm "local color". I am Laura Harvey Riddell Tuttle,
born May 2, 1907, in Irvine, the youngest of the four daughter of Hugh
Riddell. He was a lawyer here for many years and his boyhood home was on
Park Avenue where the Higginbothams live now. He studied law at the
University of Virginia, went into his father's (Judge Roberts Riddell)
office, became circuit judge, and in the 1920's was president of the State
Bar Association.  After his father died he became partners with Bob Friend,
his cousin. When Hunter Shumate came out of law school (Washington & Lee)
my father took him into his office and eventually took him in as partner.
Their old safe that says "Riddell and Shumate" is in Rowland's Drug Store.
Hunter is now dead, and of course, my father is. He had married Alice
McDowell Shelby of Lexington, a great granddaughter of both Isaac Shelby
and Dr. Ephraim McDowell. My grandfather Robert Riddell, also a circuit
Judge was a rebel and brother of one of Morgan's men -- a doubtful honor
as I have read that they were a rough bunch. Grandfather was a crippled
man so he was unable to serve actively.

He was said to be a stern judge, but a kindly man. About him I shall tell
two, and only two, so don't be alarmed, of my local color stories. He
enforced perfect order in the courtroom. One day a man kept standing up.
Grandfather would tell him to take his seat. He would, but would
immediately stand again. Finally the man said, "I'll have you know, Bob
Riddell, that I'm a taxpayer in this county and my money helped build this
courthouse, so I'll stand up in it when I want to."  Grandfather perfectly
calmly said, "Mr. Sheriff, there's another building out in the courthouse
yard which Mr. ---- helped with his taxes to build. Take him out there
and let him stand up in it 24 hours", which the sheriff did. I am sure
there was no more insurrection that day. The judicial districts then
included Morgan or Menifee (I have forgotten which) when Grandfather was
holding court there once there was stock grazing in a pasture next to
the courthouse. The windows were open and a bombastic lawyer began to yell
and pound on the desk. About that time a donkey in the field began to
bray. Grandfather hit on his desk with his gavel and said, "One at a time
gentleman. I'll hear you one at a time."

The Riddells have lived in Irvine since early in the 1800's when the first
Robert Riddell came from Pennsylvania with other pioneers up the Wilderness
Road. On the way, he married Mary Hyatt. Their graves are in West Irvine
on property owned by Clyde Thomas. I have many memories of historic Estill
Springs. At one time we lived in what was one of the many Estill Springs'
cottages and which Ann and Donald Hardy have made in a most beautiful home.
Then we lived in the hotel, but then isolated and woodsy. Mother was afraid
as Dad was gone a great deal "on the bench" as they called being Circuit
Judge then. He bought her a pistol - my dignified mother!! But when my
sister Elizabeth began walking in her sleep, they disposed of it. Dad had
some odd experiences when he was judge. There were many places he
had to go on horseback and stay wherever he could. People were cordial but
he said that several times he woke to find snow on his bed where it had
blown in the cracks between the logs. Once he was wakened by the lady of
the house and asked to get up as they needed his sheet for a tablecloth
for breakfast.

I have a good deal of knowledge of and memories of Estill Springs as my
father's older brother, Harvey Riddell and his wife, Laura owned it at one
time. He, too was a lawyer living in Denver, but they spent every summer
here bringing with them their foster children, Aunt Laura's niece and
nephew. He looked forward to their coming as they seemed very glamorous
to us. Irvine was tiny and we were very unsophisticated.

I would like to tell you about the history of Estill Springs. The huge
boundary was located on the northeastern edge of Irvine. The part most
of us think of--only a small section of it all--became a famous summer
resort for nearly 80 years. You, in this generation, may not know the
place that a summer resort had once been in the social life of our county.
Now we jump in a car or camper and tour all over the country.   Eighty
or ninety years ago--if you could afford it--you went for relaxation for
maybe all summer to a resort. Some similar resorts are still in existence,
I believe: White Sulphur Springs, W.V.; Hot Springs, Arkansas; Saratoga,
N.Y.; French Lick, Indiana; Warm Springs, Georgia. Some resorts sort of
grew into State Parks.  Well, Estill Springs, built in 1845, would have
be the oldest summer resort in the state. On the register there have been
many fashionable and distinguished names:  Henry Clay, Governor Owsley,
Governor McGoffin, John J. Crittenden, John C. Breckenridge and many
others. Many famous and important conventions were held there: the Circuits
Clerks, the State Bar Association (which I remember well and at which
my father was elected state president), Morgan's Men (there were 38 at
the time), Fox Hunters Association, Bankers Association and many others.

This site has been known from back in Indian days as a hunting ground
and garden spot where springs burst forth which the Indians believed had
healing powers (and, by the way, there still is a buffalo wallow in Sweet
Lick Creek, I am told). There is one spring at which it is said that Daniel
Boone camped in 1775. To diverge a minute, I feel sure you know that our
Station Camp area in this county was so named because it is where Boone had
his station camp.) There are many springs on the boundary--some sulphur and
some chalybeate. There were 700 acres on the ground consisting of woodlands,
mountain peaks, a wilderness of shrubs, the farm and the open fields. It
included all of what is now called Sweet Springs Addition, the old Irvine
High School and football field, where the nursing home is and all the valley
beyond it, the area known as Estill Heights, the site of the service station
on the corner which is where the old stiles were in the white board fence
which surrounded the actual yard of the hotel, (and, you know I have found
people who don't know what stiles are--steps which go up one side of a fence,
a platform, then steps that go down the other side), the hospital site, and
all the residences on both sides of Main Street from the old Richmond Road
including Edgewood Estates and opposite it, I believe clear to the mouth of
White Oak Creek, Grindstone Branch (as it was called then), I believe it
went farther up Sweet Lick Creek a good way up Sweet Lick Known and Henry
Mountain. I suppose all of this could be verified in the clerk's office. I
remember most of it. 

The hotel was built by William Chiles from lumber cut on the land and bricks
made on the spot and, of course, many native stones, too. The present spring
house had a dirt floor, but was concreted in 1908 for the centennial
celebration. In the main hotel there were 100 rooms. In the center downstairs
there were two large parlors and an office with 6 bedrooms above where
families could have adjoining apartments.  There was a main dining room 30'
by 100' (seems small now but seemed large then) and a smaller children's
dining room where they could eat with their nurses or governesses. My aunt
and uncle had their rooms over the dining room. They were near the funny
bathrooms--the first I'd seen in Irvine. They had chains to pull to flush
them. 

A picturesque part of the hotel was a long row of many bedrooms which were
added to the original building. The upper tier was called "kimono row". Some
of you moderns may know the word "kimono" only as an oriental garment, but
they were our version of a rob or negligee. It was rented only to single
ladies who sat out on the upper porch in the voluminous garments to get the
evening air (which always felt cool out of the valleys and off the mountains)
before they dressed for the semiformal meal. The lower floor of rooms was
rented to single men. I guess this was "pajama row" or maybe "nightshirt
row". The bathroom with the chain pulled water closets, as they were called,
were a long way from the bedrooms, so all rooms had a washstand with bowl
and pitcher and other "appurtances". (I wonder what became of those dozen
of "appurtances") There were also private cottages like the one from which
the Hardy's lovely house was made. I remember one around the hill beyond
the main spring which had several apartments in it. It was called the Fox
cottage and why, I don't know. During the period of 1830 - 1865 Estill
County became important socially and commercially. The river was used for
logging operations which continued into the 20th century. It was some time
after this that oil was found in Estill County and the oil business was a
"boom" as people called it. It was about this time also that the hotel grew
to 112 rooms.  There were long wide galleries (the porches of course),
corridors and lounging decks and a huge kitchen. We girls used to skate on
the porches as there were no sidewalks or paved streets. There were two
stories of bedrooms over the ballroom which was added.

When I was in high school, we girls played basketball. There was no coach.
Troy Harris used to come out and help us. I don't think we ever won a game,
but anyway, I was on the girl's basketball team in the county. That was about
1922.  Wouldn't you think it would have ruined the floor? The ballroom was
the largest in the state at that time: 45' by 100'. It supposedly had the
second best dance floor in the state--the Capitol Hotel in Frankfort being
first. It would accommodate 1,000 dancers--but not the way they dance now.
Various orchestras were employed--often the one from the old Opera House in
Lexington. They not only played for the dancing each night, but for luncheon
and for dinner, but they sometimes gave a concert on the gallery or in a
pavilion built in the yard under the pines and giant oaks, some of which are
said to be 300 or 400 years old. 

Besides the wonderful water for bathing and drinking from 5 kinds of springs:
white, red, and black sulphur, chalybeate, and alum???, there were many other
attractions: bowling alleys, tennis courts (once the state tennis tournament
was held there), and horseback riding on beautiful trails. Many people
enjoyed the lovely scenic walks and romantic spots such as "Lovers Path"
which led through a woodland and across a rustic bridge to the iron spring
(very few people called it chalybeate), the "Devil's Chair", a rock formation
covered with moss, and the "Proposition Log" where many proposals of marriage
took place -- which reminds me of my parent's courtship. My father and other
young Irvine men were at the hotel relaxing in the yard. They saw at a
distance my mother and a friend who were spending their vacation there. He
asked his friend who she was, but when no one knew, he said he would find
out because she was the woman he was going to marry.  Before she left at the
end of two weeks, they were engaged and, of course, later married. It must
have been "love at first site". Anyway, I am glad it happened or I wouldn't
be here now. 

The Hotel kept what they called a wagonette (a surrey with the fringe on top
you might say) in which they met their guests who came from everywhere on a
train which came only as far as what we call "Covey Town" and there turned
on a turntable. There were practically no roads and I well remember the first
car I ever saw in Irvine.  Mrs. Lena Wallace and Mr. E.P. Campbell had the
first ones. There were houseboats on the river for pleasure--dancing and
picnics. 

The bountiful table was provided from the farm's great garden. They had their
own lambs, pigs and chickens while a dozen or so Jersey cows furnished milk
and butter. On weekends they had guest preachers who held services. Usually,
but not at those times, of course, whiskey was available.

When Uncle Harvey decided to sell the biggest part of the tract, my father
took care of his business for him. He called a residence section Sweet
Springs Addition as so many people spoke of the sulphur waters as "sweet".
He had it surveyed into streets which he named for members of the family.
They seem odd to many people.  Ann Street is for my oldest sister and my
grandmother Riddell. Elizabeth Street is for another sister and for my great
grandmother. Laurel Street, I am sorry to say, was to be for me and my Aunt
Laura, but I opposed it so strongly that he named it Laurel. I don't know
why one street isn't named for my sister, Alice,--maybe it was because Alice
was a Shelby name and all the others were for Riddells. Rice Street is named
for Uncle Harvey's foster son, Rice Bassett, whowas killed in World War I and
Frances Street is named for his sister, Frances Bassett. Everyone knows that
the feminine name Frances is spelled with an "e" and the masculine form of
the name with an "i". Through some mistake or lack of information it is
spelled with an "i" on the street sign. it should be corrected because it
was definitely named for a woman.

It was said that not in the south was a resort as popular for nearly 80 years
as was Estill Springs. Successive owners were: Green Clay, Isaac Mize, James
Black, Cleveland Black, William and John Chiles, Colonel Sidney M. Barnes,
Spencer Noble, Lyon Douglas, William H. Lilly, Captain J.M. Thomas and Harvey
Riddell. He owned it when it burned to the ground in 1924. At that time, it
was operated by Mr. & Mrs. Coleman Benton.

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