Mayo Mansion (Ashland, Kentucky)

Mayo Mansion
Location1516 Bath Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky
Coordinates38°28′33″N 82°38′33″W / 38.47583°N 82.64250°W / 38.47583; -82.64250
Built1864
1917: Significant expansion
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
Part ofBath Avenue Historic District
Added to NRHPJuly 3, 1979

Mayo Mansion, also known as Fetter Mansion, is a historic mansion located in the Bath Avenue Historic District in downtown Ashland, Kentucky.[1]

History

Following the death of her husband, John C. C. Mayo, Alice Jane Mayo moved to Florida. In 1916, she met Dr. Samuel P. Fetter of Portsmouth, Ohio, while he was recovering from an illness in Palm Beach, Florida. They married the following year and purchased the Victorian Gartrell-Hager House in Ashland, Kentucky, which was built in 1864.[2] Although Mayo wanted to build a new house, she could not due to rations set in place during World War I. To avoid being arrested for building a new home, she received permission to remodel the existing house. Using the wealth amassed from the Mayo Companies, she rebuilt the entire building, transforming it into a 17,000 sq ft (1,579 m2) Beaux-Arts mansion.[3] Much of the interior, including the tile and marble was taken from her and her first husband's other home, also known as Mayo Mansion, in Paintsville, Kentucky.[4]

In 1864, Eliza Jane Poage Gartrell purchased the property at 1516 Bath Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky, upon which she built her home. Subsequent owners: Thomas Means → John Kobs Sr. → John Hager. In about 1912, Alice Jane Mayo Fetter (widow of coal entrepreneur John C. C. Mayo) was moving to Ashland from her “Mayo Mansion” in Paintsville. She offered to buy Ashland Central Park to build a mansion but was denied by the city due to the construction freeze ordinance in World War I. Instead, she bought the Bath Avenue property and remodeled it by largely demolishing and rebuilding the 17,000 sq-ft Beaux-Arts mansion in its place, known as the “Mayo Mansion” of Ashland. Subsequently, the mansion passed through several private owners, including the Stapleton family and in 1978 to Dr. Michael B. Minix, Sr., M.D. Mrs. Stapleton occupied the third floor until her passing. Dr. Minix said the mansion had been neglected and was in shambles. Dr. Minix obtained an easement to be used as his ophthalmology office, Minix Optical, and family residence on the second floor. Dr. Minix and his wife Connie Minix restored it for the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In 1983, Dr. Minix moved out of the mansion. He conceived its vacant occupancy as a museum to attract residents throughout the tri-state area - not just Boyd County. Therefore, he chose to name it “Highlands Museum” rather than Boyd County Museum reflecting one of his medical staff memberships at Highlands Regional Hospital in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Dr. Minix donated significant funds to support the museum’s beginning operations which had an informal inside arrangement with exhibits and public tours. A canopy was placed over the stained glass entrance panel. The museum focused on local history, culture, and coal-industry artifacts. By 1987, Dr. Minix offered the mansion for sale. Grants were sought from the Kentucky Heritage Council and the Institute of Museum Services to buy the mansion which were denied because they required building ownership. In 1988, Dr. Minix sold the Mayo Mansion to Connie Minix and investors. Subsequently, the museum opened to the public as a tenant in the Parsons building. On November 15, 2013, the museum officially purchased the Parsons building and celebrated "A New Beginning" as the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center.

A large pool house that was attached to the mansion was demolished in the 1950s.

Mayo Mansion was occupied by the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center from 1984 until 1994, when the museum moved into the former C.H. Parsons Department Store Building in the Ashland Commercial Historic District.[5]

References

  1. ^ Bath Avenue Historic District overview Retrieved on 2014-06-17.
  2. ^ Powers, James C. (1992). John E. Kleber (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. p. 503. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  3. ^ She donated her mansion to the church but then sued to get it back Archived 2014-02-10 at the Wayback Machine Appalachian History. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  4. ^ "Eyesore of a Mansion Restored to Grandeur". The Daily News. July 30, 1995. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  5. ^ [http://www.highlandsmuseum.com/about_history.shtml A Brief In 1864, Eliza Jane Poage Gartrell purchased the property at 1516 Bath Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky, upon which she built her home. Subsequent owners: Thomas Means → John Kobs Sr. → John Hager. In about 1912, Alice Jane Mayo Fetter (widow of coal entrepreneur John C. C. Mayo) was moving to Ashland from her “Mayo Mansion” in Paintsville. She offered to buy Ashland Central Park to build a mansion but was denied by the city due to the construction freeze ordinance in World War I. Instead, she bought the Bath Avenue property and remodeled it by largely demolishing and rebuilding the 17,000 sq-ft Beaux-Arts mansion in its place, known as the “Mayo Mansion” of Ashland. Subsequently, the mansion passed through several private owners, including the Stapleton family and in 1978 to Dr. Michael B. Minix, Sr., M.D. Mrs. Stapleton occupied the third floor until her passing. Dr. Minix said the mansion had been neglected and was in shambles. Dr. Minix obtained an easement to be used as his ophthalmology office, Minix Optical, and family residence on the second floor. Dr. Minix and his wife Connie Minix restored it for the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In 1983, Dr. Minix moved out of the mansion. He conceived its vacant occupancy as a museum to attract residents throughout the tri-state area - not just Boyd County. Therefore, he chose to name it “Highlands Museum” rather than Boyd County Museum reflecting one of his medical staff memberships at Highlands Regional Hospital in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Dr. Minix donated significant funds to support the museum’s beginning operations which had an informal inside arrangement with exhibits and public tours. A canopy was placed over the stained glass entrance panel. The museum focused on local history, culture, and coal-industry artifacts. By 1987, Dr. Minix offered the mansion for sale. Grants were sought from the Kentucky Heritage Council and the Institute of Museum Services to buy the mansion which were denied because they required building ownership. In 1988, Dr. Minix sold the Mayo Mansion to Connie Minix and investors. Subsequently, the museum opened to the public as a tenant in the Parsons building. On November 15, 2013, the museum officially purchased the Parsons building and celebrated "A New Beginning" as the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center. {webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710050611/http://www.highlandsmuseum.com/about_history.shtml |date=2010-07-10 }} Highlands Museum and Discovery Center. Retrieved on 2014-06-14.
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