FARMINGTON:  INTERPRETING A KENTUCKY PLANTATION HOME

Farmington, the center of a 550-acre hemp plantation, was built for John and Lucy Speed during 1815 and 1816.  The Federal-style house has an ambitious and unusual plan identified in the original building contract as the work of Paul Skidmore, (? - 1817), a Kentucky entrepreneur about whom little is known. Skidmore was clearly influenced by the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson. With two octagonal rooms imbedded in the center of the house, Farmington's plan is very similar to one produced by Jefferson for an unidentified residence.

It is likely that the design reflects Lucy Speed's ambitions for a sophisticated house acknowledging her roots in Jefferson's Virginia.  Her grandfather, Dr. Thomas Walker, served as Thomas Jefferson's guardian and her uncle-by-marriage, George Divers, lived at another house called Farmington.  Divers' house in Charlottesville, Virginia, for which Louisville's Farmington was named, had a Jefferson-designed octagonal addition. Lucy had almost certainly seen the house on a trip back to Virginia in 1806.

     Farmington, opened as a museum in 1959, has gone through several different interpretations.  Its current presentation is based on an extensive reinterpretation and restoration completed in 2002 that strives to reflect the life of the Speed family during the 1816-1841 period.  The precise original function of many rooms in the house remains uncertain.  "Mrs. Speed's room," the "parlor" and the "dining room" are all mentioned in the original building contract.  The designations of the other rooms are based on knowledge of houses of the period and clues revealed in a detailed probate inventory prepared at the time of John Speed's death in 1840.

The restoration work of Farmington began with a very detailed historic paint analysis performed by nationally known expert, Matthew Mosca.  His study not only identified original paint colors and decorative finishes but also showed that there were few changes in that first paint scheme during the 1816-1841 period.  Farmington has been completely repainted both inside and on the exterior, restoring the building to its original bright blue, yellow and pink colors.  Newly faux-grained doors and stippled woodwork recreate decorative painting found on many surfaces.  Walls in the basement have been whitewashed as they once were, and wallpaper has been installed in the parlor and dining room where investigations indicated its original presence.

     The refurnishing of Farmington's rooms also relied on historical evidence, primarily John Speed's inventory, the only known document providing information about the visual appearance and contents of the house in its early years. Speed's 1840 inventory appears to include most items then in the house from carpets, curtains, window blinds and furniture to bedding, tableware, candlesticks and fireplace and cooking equipment.  The house is interpreted to the mid-1830s, the period when the Speed family would likely have amassed most of its possessions and been at its most prosperous. 

The wide variety of colors and patterns in the house, not all conforming to present taste or expectations, are typical of the visually complex interiors of this period - a period when commercial carpeting, wallpaper and fabrics were becoming more widely available.  As much as possible, the restoration is based on research into what was available in Kentucky from 1815 to 1840, as experts believe that many of the furnishings would have been made in the state.  Decorative elements such as the ingrain and rag carpets, wallpaper, curtains and bed dressings were accurately reproduced for Farmington using documentary designs appropriate to the period.

The exterior colors were determined by paint analysis. The blue paint in the recessed front portico reflects the use of that space by the Speed family as an outdoor summer room.  The bright green paint selected for the replacement shutters was the most common shutter color used during the early 19th century.