Loudoun House, in front of you, is one of the largest and finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Kentucky. Designed by New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis and built in 1851 for Francis Key Hunt (1817–1879), the villa reflects Hunt’s ambition and deep ties: he was named after his mother’s cousin, Francis Scott Key. The home sits on the 50 acres that Hunt and his wife, Julia Warfield, were given by her parents when they married.
After his father died in a cholera epidemic, Hunt inherited more than a million dollars and set out to create this place. Inspired by the W. C. H. Waddell mansion on Murray Hill in New York City, Hunt wrote to A. J. Davis; Davis produced a castellated Gothic Revival design, and Lexington builder John McMurtry was hired to construct it. The project, expected to cost $10,000, wound up costing three times that amount and took four years to complete.
Hunt named the house “Loudoun” in honor of the song “The Bells of Loudon,” his wife’s favorite. Notice that Hunt named the house Loudoun after The Bells of Loudon, a song that was his wife Julia's favorite.