Elmendorf Farm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lexington, Kentucky
| Company type | Horse breeding stud farm |
|---|---|
| Industry | Thoroughbred horse racing |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Headquarters | 3931 Paris Pike Lexington, Kentucky |
Key people |
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| Website | www.stonecolumnsstables.com |
Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, involved with horse racing since the 19th century. Once the North Elkhorn Farm, many owners and tenants have occupied the area, even during the American Civil War. Most of the land acquired during Haggin's era has since been sold off to neighboring stud farms, but the original 765 acres including the columns and many of the historic barns and houses still exist at Elmendorf.
In about 1806, Robert Carter Harrison (1765–1840) brought his wife Ann Cabell Harrison (1771–1840) and their many children from their home in Clifton, Virginia, to Fayette County, Kentucky. There he bought the Old Kenney Farm, also known as Elk Hill, and later built his home, which came to be known as "Clifton". Elizabeth M. Simpson's book (See Ref) says the frame colonial style house was built prior to 1830; while Joe Jordon's book (See Ref) says it was built between 1835 and 1840.
Robert's son, Carter (1796–1825) died before his father, so in 1840 "Clifton" passed to Robert's grandson Carter Harrison III (1825–1893), jointly with the child's mother Caroline Evaline (Russell) Carter (1797–1875). Caroline was the daughter of Colonel William Russell. Carter Harrison III sold "Clifton" in 1855 after his mother, Caroline, was remarried to Reverend Thomas Parker Dudley of Lexington, brother of noted surgeon Benjamin Winslow Dudley. Carter moved to Chicago where he served four consecutive terms as mayor (1879–1887) and was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term in 1893.
On October 30, 1893, Harrison III was assassinated in his own home. The Maysville, Kentucky Evening Bulletin headline said he was "Shot by a Crank".[1] Harrison died and was buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. His son Carter Harrison IV (1860–1953) was elected mayor of Chicago 4 years after his father's murder, and served 5 terms.
In 1855, Thomas Hughes (1789–1862), son of Cornelius Hughes, bought the 374-acre (1.51 km2) farm from Carter Henry Harrison. He lived there with his wife Julia Ann Smith Hughes (1805–1846) and their four children, including daughter Kate Hughes McCreary (1844–1908), wife of Governor James B. McCreary (1838–1918) and son William Thomas Hughes (see next). Thomas and Julia Smith Hughes were buried on the Hughes farm, along with Thomas's brother, Michael Hughes, and his wife Mary Adams Hughes, and several children of one or the other couple. All of these family members were later re-interred in the Lexington Cemetery in a lot owned by Kate Hughes McCreary and Michael's son John T Hughes, noted Lexington horseman.
In 1862 William Thomas "WT" Hughes (1832–1874) inherited the farm from his father, Thomas Hughes, and lived there with his wife Sallie Kirkpatrick (Cooper) Hughes and their four children for over a decade. A large oil painting of their son Cooper Hughes (1862–1928) as a small boy, shows the original "Clifton" home in the background.
After the Civil War, Hughes began to buy more land, paying $100–$150 per acre at high interest rates, and not only breeding cattle but speculating in cattle in the New York market. WT borrowed heavily, and his loans were cosigned by his maternal uncle Granville Smith. In 1874, Hughes was forced to sell the farm to repay his creditors. In March 1874 Hughes sold 544 acres (2.20 km2) of the Hughes farm to Milton H. Sanford.
In June 1874, WT Hughes and his wife were relocating to a smaller farm in a nearby county, riding alongside the Kentucky River in their buggy, with pack wagons full of chattel and children following behind, when William was shot and killed from the cliff top by his uncle Granville Smith. Later that day Smith (1807–1874) shot himself. Both men left widows and children. Smith was buried in the Lexington Cemetery, and Hughes was buried first in the Richmond Cemetery, and later reinterred in Lexington alongside his wife Sallie. In 1875, the Hughes heirs sold another 776 acres (3.14 km2) to Richard Penniston.
