Heritage Tourism at the Wright House

In 2003, CRA conducted a National Register evaluation of the Wright House in Bourbon County, Kentucky, for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The house was slated to be rehabilitated for use as an interpretive center for the local community after years of use as a private residence.

While it was likely originally constructed in the 1840s by James Wilson Wright, the house went through numerous modifications and construction episodes throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Archaeological investigations were able to help date when some of these changes took place, as well as provide insight into activities that took place in the rear yard and some of the outbuildings that were present throughout history. This historical data was used to assist in the rehabilitation of the structure and to provide information for a series of interpretive signs that are located along the walkway to the house. For example, beneath the modern wood plank floor in the original detached kitchen was a hexagonal brick paver floor, which was constructed circa 1880 when James Wright remarried and added onto his home. This brick floor was recreated in the original detached kitchen during rehabilitation activities.

Archaeology at the Wright House helped provide insight into the original construction of the building and its surrounding yard, which could then be used to create historically accurate educational signs useful for public tours.