Grace Abernethy

Grace Abernethy is a historic preservationist and artist who specializes in caring for and recreating historic architectural finishes. She earned her Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Clemson University in 2011 and has worked on historic buildings throughout the eastern United States. Abernethy was a recipient of the South Carolina Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation Award in 2014 and won 2^nd place in the Charles E. Peterson Prize for the Historic American Buildings Survey in 2011. She and her husband, Brendan, moved to Hopkinsville from Nashville in 2020. She works as an independent contractor and is a board member of the Hopkinsville History Foundation.

Brick by brick: Rebuilding the Dalton house chimney

After a tornado took out the Dalton house chimney, owners Grace and Brendan Abernethy, along with a mason who works on historic properties, spent 40 hours and used 700 bricks to rebuild it.

By Grace Abernethy

Exploring the lives of the elusive R.B. and Watts Grider

In the most recent installment of Brick & Mortar Monthly, Grace Abernethy explores an inivisible thread that tied passers-through to this place.

By Grace Abernethy

Brick & Mortar Monthly: In Hopkinsville’s old houses, the porch was an extension of the interior

Technological changes, including the popularity of TV and air conditioning, have altered the way and the extent to which we use porches.

By Grace Abernethy

Brick & Mortar Monthly: A window into the Dalton house’s past

The fact that the Dalton house still had nearly all of its historic windows was a big selling point for Hopkinsville's Grace and Brendan Abernethy, whose restoration efforts now provide lessons for others working on older homes.

By Grace Abernethy

How the Dalton House became a parsonage for Hopkinsville’s First Methodist ministers

Brick & Mortar Monthly columnist Grace Abernethy uncovers the story of her home becoming a church parsonage 100 years ago this summer.

By Grace Abernethy

It’s fair week in Hopkinsville: Here’s what our taste-testers found at the food booths.

Hoptown Chronicle sent Grace and Brendan Abernethy to sample as much food as they could hold in one night at the Western Kentucky State Fair. We asked them to share what they liked with our readers. Boy, did they.

By Grace Abernethy

All the small things: Paint analysis peels back layers of the Dalton house

In her most recent Brick & Mortar Monthly column, historic preservationist Grace Abernethy uses her favorite tool to peel back the layers of Hopkinsville's historic Dalton house.

By Grace Abernethy

Brick & Mortar Monthly: The Dalton House was home to many Hopkinsville boarders

In the most recent installment of Brick & Mortar Monthly, Grace Abernethy explores the history of boarding houses through the lens of her historic home.

By Grace Abernethy

Dalton House served as backdrop to daily life for sisters Sarah and Margaret

In the most recent installment of Brick & Mortar Monthly, Grace Abernethy highlights the lives of Sarah and Margaret Dalton.

By Grace Abernethy

A house for a car: Dalton House garage among earliest examples

At a time when there were only a few Hopkinsville homes with cars, the forward-thinking Monroe Dalton built a house with a garage.

By Grace Abernethy

The surprising history of 201 S. Virgina St.

In the second part of a three-part Black History Month series about Dr. Phillip Brooks, Grace Abernethy explores the history of the property where Brooks built Hopkinsville's only hospital for Black patients during segregation.

By Grace Abernethy

Dalton brothers’ bricks built a lasting legacy

The Dalton brothers' legacy can be seen in the brickwork of historic buildings throughout downtown Hopkinsville.

By Grace Abernethy