The White House

The White House. . , Oliver H. Perry and his wife, Frances, built this house in the mid-1850s. Frances, known to family and friends as Fannie, was the daughter of Robert and Mary Sappington Scott, the largest landowners of what became Camp Nelson., Built in the Latest Style , The Perrys built their two-story, 14-room house in the Greek Revival style, which dominated architecture in the United States from 1830 to 1850. Its hallmarks include wide bands of trim beneath the roof line, porches, prominent columns, and doorways with side and transom lights. The White House has a two-story entry porch supported by square columns , a local interpretation of Greek Revival style. The house has remarkably well preserved interior features, including doors, windows, wood trim, and mantles that also reflect the Greek Revival influence., The U.S. Army Takes the Perry House , When the U.S. army established the supply depot here in 1863, they seized the Perry's home. In correspondence, the army referred to the house as simply the "White House." The army housed quartermaster and commissary officers here, including Chief Quartermaster Captain Theron E. Hall, who signed his name on the parlor wall. Records indicate that the army built the two-story rear addition, or at least a portion of it, while they occupied the building., The Perry Family Returns , After the Civil War, Oliver and Frances and their sons Robert and John returned to the house. Oliver became a prominent farmer. John Perry and his wife, Tabitha Roberts Perry, continued to live in the house after Oliver and Frances died. The house stayed in the Perry family until 1948. The Jessamine County Fiscal Court purchased the White House in 1997, and completed its restoration two years later., Restoring the White House , When the Jessamine County Fiscal-Court acquired the White House it was in poor shape. Rental property, it had been under-maintained for years. During restoration, it was discovered that the plaster walls of the parlor were covered in Civil War graffiti, a portion of which has been preserved.