Mayo Mansion is a historic
mansion at 405 Third Street in
Paintsville
Paintsville () is a home rule-class city along Paint Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,459 during the 2010 U.S. Census.
History
A Paint Lick Station was referred to in ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on May 3, 1974, as John C.C. Mayo Mansion and Office. The mansion is currently occupied by Our Lady of the Mountains School.
Mayo Mansion was built for
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
entrepreneur
John C. C. Mayo. Herman Geisky served as the chief architect during construction.
History
Mayo began develop plans to construct a new estate in Paintsville. Mayo had originally intended to build a mansion with approximately twenty rooms. But, after visiting several other mansions in Central Kentucky, he decided to build a much larger home. After hiring architect Herman Geisky and over one hundred
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
stonemasons from
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, construction began in 1905.
Due to Paintsville's undeveloped state at the time, there were many challenges during construction. Before the foundation could be built, the land had to drained and filled. Paintsville had not yet constructed a public water system so a private system was developed on the estate that pumped water from a well into a
cistern. Rain water was also captured from the roof and was channeled into a cistern. The collected water could then be pumped into the mansion. At the start of the mansion's construction, Paintsville had also not yet received electrical service. Due to this, the original plans called for the use of carbide gas to provide lighting. But, during construction, electric power transmission lines connected Paintsville to a power grid, and the carbide gas system was never installed.
The sandstone used in the construction of the exterior of the mansion was cut and shaped at Thomas Jefferson Mayo's (John Mayo's father) farm, which was located across
Paint Creek. The sandstone blocks were then transported across the valley from his father's farm to the construction site on an overhead tram that was 3/4 mile long. After each stone column was shaped, it was transported as three individual pieces using a team of
oxen. The team of oxen then had to pull the individual segments of the columns through
Paint Creek during the dry season to the mansion. In December 1912, after a cost of
$250,000 ($ in dollars), the three-story, 43-room mansion was complete.
![Mayo Mansion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Mayo_Mansion.jpg)
Mayo died on May 11, 1914. Three years after his death, his wife, Alice Jane Mayo, and his two children moved to
Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,6 ...
due to the region's isolation. Much of the mansion's interior, including the marble, tile, and furniture, was taken to Ashland where the family constructed a
new mansion. The estate was sold to the Sandy Valley Seminary, which was renamed John C. C. Mayo College. After the college closed due to financial difficulties in 1936, the property and estate were given back to Alice. The estate was then sold to E. J. Evans, who was a friend and employee of her husband. In 1945, Evans sold the mansion and property to Most Reverend William T. Mulloy, the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of
Covington, Kentucky
Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...
, at the time. In October of the same year the Sisters of Divine Providence from
Melbourne, Kentucky, established Our Lady of the Mountains School, which still occupies the building today.
History of Mayo Mansion
Retrieved on 2010-1-1
References
External links
Our Lady of the Mountains School
{{EMCF Attractions
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky
National Register of Historic Places in Johnson County, Kentucky
Houses completed in 1912
Houses in Johnson County, Kentucky
1912 establishments in Kentucky
Neoclassical architecture in Kentucky
Schools in Johnson County, Kentucky
Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington
Paintsville, Kentucky