February 2011
Lexington's Franklin Mansion-Part 3
Our host, 12-year-old Noah Franklin, continues his tour through one of Lexington's treasured landmarks that dates from the 1860's and still retains many of the original appointments. See previous articles of January 2011 and November 2010.
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This is the Franklin home in Lexington, Ill. |
Noah brings us into the Franklin home to what he calls the family room. It is a pleasant cozy room
made by enclosing a former porch with modern windows and updating the floors and walls.
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The family room door in this picture leads to the pool house and pool deck. |
The entrance door from outside is just to the left out of camera view. Noah noted that the family room serves lots of purposes; for example, as his tack room during the cold months of winter to house the saddle for horse Bambi, whose home is part of the original barn out behind the house.
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Next to the family room is their large kitchen with lots of original woodwork. |
Notice the drawer pulls and the possible original door knobs, too. The door on the right in the photo leads out to another porch. (Sunny porch picture from last month.) It is an add on to the veranda. In the summer the family enjoys eating on this comfortable porch next to the kitchen. It is also handy for family gatherings. Noah has noticed that living in an older home (This one is nearly 145 years old!) requires lots of maintenance, but they try to keep up with everything so it doesn’t get out of hand, as evidenced by the fresh look of the kitchen!
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"Mo" refer's to Grandpa Elmo who still has a special place in this home where he lived for many years. |
This buffet or counter area of the kitchen is called “Mo’s Bar” fondly named by the family in memory of Grandpa Elmo, who must have shown some super talents in this family kitchen while he lived here. What a great way to be remembered by your family! The door on the left from the kitchen leads to the laundry room and basement.
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In the laundry area is a trap door to the basement, obviously a place of fascination for most 12 year olds. When closed, the door blends right in with the floor, but when flipped open it reveals the “bones” of the old house.
Notice the original foundation wall made of rough stones. The basement floor is brick and Noah notes that it is surprisingly sturdy and fairly dry for such an old home. He tells that, when his friends come over to visit, they find the old basement one of the creepiest places in the house. I’m sure Noah helps them imagine some of the “ghosts” who might hang out down there, too!
Next we go into the dining room where we find the walls formally painted a dark navy which makes the lovely white woodwork look so pretty. The table and chairs are one of the antiques that must be treated with special care – no late night messy homework projects allowed here! The painting on the wall was done years ago by a local artist in Bloomington, but it still seems very contemporary hanging in this dining room.
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This crystal chandelier in the dining room might be original to the house, according to Noah, so that would make it almost 150 years old. It is one of those things that must NEVER meet any kind of object tossed by a Franklin kid! Note the curved part of the ceiling in the picture. Noah says that is part of a closet built under the stairs and it adds a unique architectural detail in this room. A china cabinet with its priceless contents is also one of the original antiques found in the Franklin home.
The beautiful antique silver tea set probably served many fancy Lexington ladies over the years at afternoon parties at the Franklin home and it still has a place of honor in the dining room.
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This ornately carved fireplace mantle in the dining room is the one that holds Christmas stockings every December for the Franklins. A few repairs have been made over the years, but most of the tiles and wooden decor are original to the home.
Next is the Franklin den, a room of this large house that holds many objects of historical significance. The first artifact is a framed original letter signed by Abraham Lincoln, a close family friend from years ago. His portrait also hangs in this room.
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They also have an original newspaper announcing the death of Abraham Lincoln back in April of 1865, an event that happened even before this house was built here on South Street in 1867.
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These rare old maps on the den wall show the original layout of Lexington and Money Creek townships where the original Franklins and Trimmers settled in the 1830’s.
Through the archway from the dining room we enter a comfortable sitting room. The Franklin family, or at least Noah, has a special name for this living room. They call it the “Lola Room” because of the large oval portrait of the little girl with the deep dark eyes that hangs over the original fireplace. Noah says it’s very eerie sometimes when Lola seems to look right at you no matter which side of the room you are standing on. Beautiful little Lola died when she was only 4 years old and her portrait has hung here in the “Lola room” for many, many years.
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Noah believes the candle holders on the mantle are also antiques. The home has the usual 12 foot ceilings with elaborately detailed white woodwork and traditional shutters on the 9 foot tall windows. Most of the windows and doors still open and the fireplaces are still usable.
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The Franklins store their musical instruments here in the hallway among some original antique coat rack, mirrors, umbrella holders, and reception area furniture. Maybe Grandpa Jacob Spawr rested his signature twisted cane right here during one of his many visits to his daughter’s home. The “music” area vestibule is near the original front entrance of the home from South Street. Noah confides that the antique front door shows its age and is a pain to pry open, so the modern Franklin family doesn’t use it much anymore. The “front” door for them is now on the east side of the home.
Near this old entrance is an antique stained glass window with the date 1877 which Noah thinks is the date the Franklin family became the owners of the stately home.
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These attic stairs are part of the back stairway that leads to the actual attic. Notice the insulation carefully tucked between the wood. The rope pull leads to another higher attic space and the access to the widow’s walk shown in last month's tour pictures. |
Every family has a special hiding place for treasures, and the Franklins use this special dresser drawer to store many old items that are often the subject of “show and tell” when the Franklin brothers have their young friends over. Leather gloves, old tins, special books, and wrapped items can lead to many tales from an old house.
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When the paper is unwrapped and the secret is finally revealed, Noah shows the actual hair of the little girl in the portrait in the “Lola Room” downstairs. We looked up the old tradition of saving hair to make jewelry and works of art made of human hair, and we found out it is an art form that has nearly gone extinct. Hair art was a popular art form starting in the 1400s and remained through the 1800s, both in Europe and in the United States. It was a way to track a family tree in the days before photographs. And, they say, unless the hair gets wet, it stays in the same condition as the day it was cut. But to our young host this is one of those family treasures that makes his house really special.
That concludes our special tour of the Franklin Mansion by the youngest Noah Franklin. We so appreciate his hard work in putting this story together for us. Hope it was enjoyed by all.