Built between 1820 and 1825,the Gower House was a 35 to 40 room inn for weary travelers. It was situated on the south bank at the confluence of the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers at Smithland Kentucky in Livingston County.

In 1966 The Kentucky Historical Society placed a marker which read:

"Erected about 1780: one of the luxury inns built to accommodate the travelers on the Ohio River. Host to many celebrities of that era, including Presidents James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, founder American Red Cross, Clara Barton; authors Charles Dickens and Lew Wallace; and Henry Clay. Lafayette was a guest here in May of 1825 while on his triumphal US Tour."

The back reads:

"Ned Buntline, pen name of Edward Z.C. Judson, author of Western stories and maker of the "Buntline Special" revolver, came to Smithland to publish his works; lived here in 1845."

Among the famous that are reported to have slept at the Inn are: Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Aaron Burr, John James Audubon, Benedict Arnold, Jenny Lind. Ulysses S. Grant and his troops are said to have drank from the mineral well in the courtyard. Local folk lore reports that President Zachary Taylor was informed of his election to the Presidency while staying at the Inn.

Henry Clay is rumored to have held court under the old elm tree that was in front of the Inn. Dubbed "Judge Elm", it is reputed to have been the sight for the first hanging in Western Kentucky. The tree no longer exits, having been struck by lightning some years ago. A very ingenious person took the remains and carved a statue of Clay. The wooden likeness was housed in a veranda next to the Gower House, however it has since disintegrated.

The architecture is described as Georgian or Early Federal, similar to that of colonial New England homes, taverns, and hotels.

All the wall structures are 16 inches in depth and solid brick. The foundation is formed of limestone rock, some measuring as large as three by six feet.

The Gower House was constructed in a U shape with verandas overlooking the center courtyard. A mineral well was situated in the center of this area. A fire in 1857 destroyed half the building, leaving the present L shaped structure. A Methodist Minister's conference was being held at the time and it is said that they formed a bucket brigade to the river to extinguish the fire.

Presently The Gower House sits gutted and unused. The hand-hewn mantles and floors have long since been discarded and lost to time. However, past and present owners have made an attempt to bring the house back to some of it's former glory, still much work must be done to restore it completely.

The Gower House is located on Water St. In Smithland Kentucky.

SMITHLAND'S EARLY HISTORY

The town of Smithland and the surrounding county of Livingston have a deep and rich history. At one point Livingston County was at the Western edge of The United States boundary.

Prior to the inhabitation of white settlers, Kentucky was the hunting ground of the Chickasaw Indians and held in high regard by them. I could go into great detail about the acquisition of the land from the Indians, but will leave that to other historians.

Smithland or Smith's Town, as it was first called, was situated some miles down the river from it's present site. However, due to flooding and other natural phenomenon, the town slid into the Ohio and was relocated to it's present sight at the convergence of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers.

Part of William Croghan’s Revolutionary War Grant was used to form Smithland. In 1797 Croghan, through Town Trustees, Thomas Ferguson and Daniel Hazel, laid out Smithland into lots. The Gower House stands on Lot # 3. The block, surrounded by Mill Street to the West, Water Street to the North, Walnut Street to the East and Charlotte to the South, housed twelve lots. Six fronted Water Street, 1-6, and six fronted Charlotte, 37-42.

In the 1801 edition of The Pittsburgh Navigator and Almanac, Zadock Cramer describes Smithland as such, “At the mouth of this river (Cumberland) is a small town, and a warehouse owned by Joseph Woods for the deposit of goods destined up that river. The Town has a post office, two stores, and about 15 or twenty houses, and may, from it’s commanding situation become a place of considerable importance.”

The earliest mention of Smithland found in the documents of Livingston County were two County Court documents dated May 5, 1801. One permitted Thomas Gist (later a town trustee) to keep a tavern at his ferry in Smithland. The other allowed Isaac Bullard to keep a tavern at his own house in Smithland. On November 1, 1802, Bullard was granted a permit to keep a ferry at his own landing at the mouth of the Cumberland River.

Although it appears that there was a settlement at the site of Smithland prior to 1801, the first sale recorded was dated May 11, 1803. William Croghan of Jefferson Co, Ky, sold lots #4, 5, 6, 40, 41, and 42 to Isaac Bullard, for consideration of Thomas Ferguson and Daniel Hazel having complied with Croghan’s terms of 1797 for settling a town at the mouth of the Cumberland River and $45.00 (A/181) It appears that Bullard had been living on the land prior to this deed, running a tavern and a ferry. Many deeds are missing before and after this. Perhaps in some of those deeds we would find other earlier sales.

Christian Schultz wrote about his visit to Smithland in 1807: "The situation here is eligible for improvement, since most boats descending to New Orleans and Memphis generally halt here for hams, provisions, boats, or repairs. It appears to be a sort of inland port. Where runaway boys, idle young men, and unemployed boatmen assemble."

The Town plot of Smithland was not made official until 1809. In 1809 when the town was laid out, James McCawley owned quite a few lots on the river and in town. One neighborhood is still called McCawley Neighborhood. It is located off US 60, the main street that runs through Smithland.

I have recently aquired 9 letters written by Benjamin Barner to John Wells and Woodard Allen in Spartensburg S.C. These letters range from 1844 to 1850. In them he talks about trying to sell property for these men, including the Gower House. He writes of Chlorea in 1849, the St Louis Fire and the Annexing of Texas. Also in the collection is a ledger from the estate of Henry Wells for the years 1857 and 1859. Below is one in which Barner writes of selling the Gower House. These letter show insight into the culture of mid 19th century America.

Barner was the owner of the Massey house, a partner of Henry Wells and is listed as a clerk in a Smithland Bank in 1860. He witnessed many of the Livingston County Deeds that were recorded in the Mid 19th Century.

Woodward Allen, (I believe, but have not confirmed) was the son in law of John Wells, Henry Wells' Brother and the son of the man who built the RobWood Plantation in Spartenburg South Carolina.

                                                                  Smithland 9^th January 1849

Mr. (Woodard) Allen

Dear Sir,

Yours of the 15^th October was duly received and should have been answered sooner but I have been engaged all the time in trying to dispose of the Gower House and I now write to let you know that I have succeeded in selling it for eighteen hundred dollars. The terms of the sale (was) on half in hand and the other half to be paid in twelve months with interest from the sale. I have just this moment put one thousand dollars on board the packet boat commerce bound for Nashville to be invested in a check on one of the (Eastern?) citys and as soon as I get it I will enclose it to you, so you may look for it in the course of 11 or (8 ) days after you receive this. I will then write you more fully.

Give my respects to (Mrs. Moss) and the other members of your family. I am afraid that you will not like my sending the money as it may prevent you from visiting this country, you having written me in your last that you would rather come after your money than pay three percent exchange. I would have (kept) there and let you come after it but thought that you would rather pay three percent than to come to this country while cholera is among us. The death by this disease in New Orleans has been greater than it ever was before. This I have no doubt. You have learned from the news papers. As yet we have not had any (cares among _____) our citizens but it has been very bad as the (boats) coming up from New Orleans.

Very Respectfully

Benjamin Barner

I will update this site with the content of the rest of the letters as soon as I have finished transcribing them.