|
Thistleton
"Thistleton," built in 1887, was the elegant Queen Anne residence of Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. Born in Columbus, Kentucky, Taylor was the son of John Eastin and Rebecca Edrington Taylor. He was left an orphan at an early age and adopted by an uncle. The big work of his life was accomplished as a distiller. In 1868 he organized the firm of W. A. Gaines & Company and built the Old Crow and the Hermitage distilleries at Frankfort. In 1874 he rebuilt and operated the Oscar Pepper Distillery in conjunction with his ward James E. Pepper, a son of Oscar Pepper. In 1869 he constructed the O. F. C. Distillery and subsequently organized the E. H. Taylor company and built the Carlisle Distillery, both situated at the current site of Buffalo Trace Distillery. His Old Taylor Distillery brought him worldwide fame as his likeness was shown on the bottle's label.
Taylor was the first in Kentucky to use the improved methods of manufacturing whiskies which were celebrated all over the world. For over fifteen years, Taylor served as mayor of Frankfort. He also served as representative from Franklin County and state senator from the 20th District. At his death in 1923, his 900 acre estate Thistleton was sold at public auction to George Collins, father of local artist Harold "Coot" Collins. The estate was razed in the early 1960s and the City of Frankfort annexed the subdivision of Thistleton in March of 1963.
|
