Congratulations Sir Dave for the FTF!
Welcome to Vanceburg, Kentucky. A small but friendly river city that has served as the county seat of Lewis County since 1864. This cache series will take you through some of the history of the city, from some of the oldest things and buildings, to the more modern things of historical note. This cache is #1 in this series.
The Carter House
Welcome to the Carter House. The building you see before you was built in 1897 by Thomas Carter. Originally, it was known as "The New Carter House Hotel." The Old Carter House Hotel preceded this building and was located on Front Street (Where the Vanceburg Christian Church now stands). It burned in 1894 while construction on this building was nearly complete. You see two stories now, but the original three-story building was quite the work of architecture for its time and area. It was built of brick, adorned with Italian marble, and had wrought-iron balconies on the Main and Second Street sides. As of 1905 the hotel contained 43 furnished guest rooms and served meals in a dining room well known throughout the region for its high quality. Thomas Carter's nephew, Jack Carter took charge of the hotel in March of 1898 at the age of 37. He kept a well-stocked bar, according to a business listing in "The Sun" newspaper from 1900. This bar was lit with electric light and was stocked with pure Bourbon and Rye whiskeys. Sohl's Old Gold beer was kept on tap and the Anheuser-Busch and Bluegrass bottled beer were sold as well. The hotel became known as one of the finest hosteries in Northeastern and Eastern Kentucky and was a favorite stopping place for traveling men. In 1906, local option laws banned saloons in Vanceburg and this caused great difficulties for the economic viability of the Carter House.The Carter House was a well-known landmark for hotel guests for nearly 20 years, but with the changing of alcohol laws, changing travel patterns, and cost of labor it became an unprofitable venture. In 1919 the hotel was run as a rooming house by John Austin, for employees working on the first set of locks and dams on the Ohio River just below Vanceburg. Just a year later in 1920 a fire brokeout and flames greatly damaged the third floor of the building. The property was then purchased by Max Block, who removed the upper story, renovated and built an apartment on the top floor, and opened a department store on the first floor. It eventually came into the hands of his son and daughter-in-law, Celia and David Timmer. Upon the closing of the department store, the upstairs of the building became the home of Stanley and Bertram Attorneys at Law. The first floor also then housed the Cabinet for Health and Family Services until they moved into their new building just off of the AA Highway.
In recent years the Carter House was purchased by Shirley and Cary Cagle, who renovated and updated parts of the building and turned it into a restaurant and bar. While much work has already been done, the Cagle’s vision is to recreate the elegance and reputation of the first Carter House and bring buisness and attention to the wonderful city of Vanceburg, and they are just the right people for the job.
Thank you for visiting downtown Vanceburg, enjoy your stay! Make sure to check out the historical sign near the GZ and be sure to check out the rest of the caches in this series as well!
Out of respect for the property/business owners and the city, PLEASE DO NOT attempt these caches at night. The streets are regularly patrolled and you may look suspicious. Also be sure to use A LOT of stealth for this one. The GZ is out in the open and there may be many muggles around, let's keep this one from being muggled!
(This cache was placed with permission from the property owners)
-Team Lewis and Clark, DWS, CCL, & MGS 4/25/2021