Keene Springs Hotel
The Keene Springs Hotel is a rambling wood-frame, two-story Greek Revival-style building built in sections in 1841 by Mason Singleton Jr. in the hamlet of Keene, near Nicholasville, Kentucky in Jessamine County. He and his wife Nancy owned and operated the hotel and tavern as a resort destination for the white sulphur springs nearby. During the cholera epidemic of 1848–1849 and outbreaks in the early 1850s, residents of Lexington came to the hotel to try to escape the spread of disease in the city. The Singletons operated the hotel until 1857, when they sold it to Alfred McTyre.
Keene Springs Hotel | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Nearest city | Keene, Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°56′37″N 84°37′38″W |
| Built | 1841 |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001636 |
| Added to NRHP | 5 July 1984 |
After the American Civil War, tourist travel decreased because of the poor economy. F.S. Wilson purchased the hotel in 1868 and operated it as a boarding house through the end of the century. In the 20th century until the 1960s, Wilson family descendants used the structure as a general store and residence.
The hotel is privately owned. A lessee operates a restaurant three days a week and is gradually restoring the building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984.