Brick & Mortar Monthly

Linoleum, the middle child of flooring products, has a hard time living up to stately hardwood, durable tile, and elegant carpet. But Grace Abernethy says some of the best things she've found in the Dalton house are scraps of old linoleum.

Brick & Mortar Monthly columnist Grace Abernethy mines childhood memories from a diary and clues found in old newspapers to shed light on Christmases in Hopkinsville during the early 20th century.

"Hopkinsvillians in 1913 cherished the building, not just because of its entertainment potential but because of its beauty. It was a testament to what a group of people in Hopkinsville could achieve when they united for a single cause," writes columnist Grace Abernethy.

Eighty-five years after it was leveled by a fire, the Hotel Latham still exists in Hopkinsville's psyche and in the architectural flourishes of surviving structures such as the Dalton House.

Finding the right dress for a 1913 graduation was crucial for a young woman like Margaret Dalton at Hopkinsville High School.

Grace Abernethy didn't realize that some heavy lawn work at the Dalton house would led to a lesson in the history of public sanitation in Hopkinsville.

Grace and Brendan Abernethy are taking their kitchen back to its origin, which will include space for the venerable beaten biscuit machine.

Sarah Dalton Todd's memoir provided clues Grace Abernethy sought to learn about Black families who did laundry and other domestic work on East Seventh Street around the turn of the 20th century.

It took Grace Abernethy months to find radiators for the old Dalton house, but in the process she also chased down a mystery about a local telephone company.

Nearly half of the old homes that stood within the boundaries of the East Seventh Street Historic District when it was designated in 1983 are now gone. But columnist Grace Abernethy still sees reason to hope for the revival of areas like her neighborhood.

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.

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