Spindletop Hall
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Spindletop Hall, located at 3414 Iron Works Pike in
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
, is the former home of Pansy Yount, wife of Miles Franklin Yount of the Yount-Lee Oil Company. It is currently the home of the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
's staff, faculty, and alumni club, which was founded in 1962.


History of Spindletop Hall

On November 14, 1925, Frank Yount struck oil at the
Spindletop Spindletop is an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindlet ...
field in
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
. The field, which had basically played out since its original discovery on January 10, 1901, produced from new strata over of
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
an acre per year, pumping in excess of within 5 years. Now financially secure, Miles Frank and wife, Pansy, established in Beaumont a stable of
American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...
horses, quickly becoming recognized as a leader in the industry.A History of Spindletop Hall
Retrieved 2013-01-06
One day shy of the eighth anniversary of Spindletop's second discovery, Frank Yount died of a heart attack at age 53 on November 13, 1933. Left as the beneficiary of great wealth, Yount's widow, Pansy, mired in controversy in Beaumont, chose
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
as the place she would start anew. Spindletop Farm was established in 1935 on of land, known previously as Shoshone Stud Farm, owned by William Robertson Coe. At a cost of one million dollars, construction of Spindletop Hall began in 1935 and took two years to complete. Mrs. Yount deemed the house to be a showplace of Kentucky, a modern
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
of
classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...
. When completed, the mansion housed 40 rooms, each with its own thermostat, 14 bathrooms, 133 full-size exterior and interior doors, 102 windows with screens of copper, and 11 fireplaces, all encompassing over of floor space. At the time of its construction, the circular staircase and the 30X60 foot living room were the largest in Kentucky. Eventually, Mrs. Yount expanded the farm to . On the property were of metal fences, 17 houses for servants and farm hands, and 18 barns. There was a greenhouse, swimming pool, bath house, tennis court, two aviaries, and three kennels. Pansy Yount lived at Spindletop Hall with her adopted daughter, Mildred, and William Capers "Cape" Grant, her third husband and horse trainer. She was considered "new money" by the Kentucky Blue Bloods and was never accepted into their social circle. During WWII she donated one of her husband Frank's Duesenberg cars to a local scrap drive. In early 1959, Spindletop Farm was sold/donated to The
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
for $850,000. Mrs. Yount died in 1962. Also in 1962, Spindletop Hall became the residence of the University of Kentucky Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Club. The club's roster has grown from around 500 memberships to nearly 1800 families and individuals.


Inside the mansion


The main floor

''Grand Entrance Hall'' At the time the house was constructed, the heavy bronze doors which grace the foyer (and a similar pair which open from the library to the porte-cochere) cost $14,000. The original imported rug was designed to match the elaborately molded plaster ceiling. The fretwork panels in the stairwells serve as echo chambers for the four keyboard Kimball organ in the music room. Slipcovers, which the owner never removed (this is also true for all draperies in the mansion), hid the Italian velvet draperies. The massive bronze chandelier, which was designed in Europe, was made in three separate sections. The wall panels were handpainted in themes representative of
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
. ''Music Room'' To the right of the Grand Entrance Hall is the Music Room. The Show Cabinet adjacent to the fireplace wall encased two Stradivarius violins, among other quality musical instruments like a Welte-Kimball automatic organ. The walls are burled mahogany with ceramic trim. The mantel is made of imported marble. An Aubosson carpet (since replaced) complemented the paneled walls. The crystal chandeliers and wall sconces were made in Czechoslovakia. ''Library'' Steps lead from the music room to the Library. There were in excess of 7,000 volumes here prior to Mrs. Yount's donation of the property. The current collection is courtesy of gifts from the membership of Spindletop. The center of the room is a fireplace mantel which was removed from Trentham Hall in Staffordshire, England. The bronze doors lead to the porte-cochere. An Oriental rug, which cost over $40,000, originally laid over the hardwood floor. ''Elizabethan Living Room (Oak Room)'' ''Formal Dining Room'' ''Kitchens'' ''Informal Dining Room'' ''French Powder Room''


Upper level

''Adam Suite (Manion Suite)'' ''Louis XVI Suite (Yount Suite)'' ''Mr. Grant's Room (Board of Directors Room)'' ''The Colonial Room (Kentucky Room)'' ''Linen closet'' ''Guest Rooms and Baths (Administrative offices)'' ''Spanish Room (Sales and Operations offices)''


References


External links


Spindletop Hall, the UK Staff, Faculty, and Alumni ClubDevil's Pocket, Full Discussion of ''Black Gold to Bluegrass: From the Oil Fields of Texas to Spindletop Farm of Kentucky''--how Spindletop Farm came about.


Further reading

* McKinley, Fred B., and Greg Riley. ''Black Gold to Bluegrass: From the Oil Fields of Texas to Spindletop Farm of Kentucky''. Austin: Eakin Press, 2005. {{University of Kentucky Houses in Lexington, Kentucky Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Kentucky Houses completed in 1937 Buildings at the University of Kentucky Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky 1937 establishments in Kentucky University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky