Hopemont — Attraction in Lexington

I enjoyed an entertaining, informative tour of the Hunt-Morgan house on July 11, 2018. Thanks to Betty (who led the tour) for the tour and for patiently answering my numerous questions.

According to Betty (as well a brochure about the house and a historical marker), the house was built in 1814. She said it has been restored to look much as it did in 1814. She added that thanks to donations from family members over the years, the house now contains many original family furnishings.

Regular tours are conducted on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday 1 p.m.-4 p.m., as well as Saturday 10 a.m.-3p.m. from April through October according to a sign posted outside the house and a free brochure about the house. Betty said that depending upon the weather there may also be some regular tours conducted in March. But she said the house doesn’t heat very well.

I took the tour scheduled for 2 p.m., which started a bit late as we waited for another tour to finish. There were only three persons on my tour (myself and a couple). I feel this gave us a better opportunity to see things and ask questions, so I felt privileged to be part of a small tour.

My tour began some minutes after 2 p.m. and lasted about an hour, including the time for questions from me and the other two persons on the tour. The building includes a small gift shop, which is where tours begin.

The entrance hall, impressive staircase, chandeliers, furniture, paintings, china sets, etc., offered much to see during the tour. Near the entrance is a display about the history of hemp in Kentucky. The hemp industry is where John Wesley Hunt who had the house built made most of his money according to Betty.

The second floor includes a room devoted to a Civil War Museum. This room includes some items that belonged to Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, grandson of John Wesley Hunt.

The great grandson of John Wesley Hunt, Thomas Hunt Morgan PhD, a researcher in genetics who was awarded a Nobel Prize, was born in this house. And Dr. Morgan’s own home is near this house.

The tour included the first and second floor. The third floor (which may have been a children’s dormitory according to Betty) and the basement (where the kitchen was) were not part of the tour. But the nearby carriage house was included in the tour.

Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the outside of the house, including the garden. After my tour I walked through the garden. I also looked through windows into the inside of the nearby house that had belonged to Thomas Hunt Morgan.

The tour of the Hunt-Morgan house costs $12.00 for adults. But at the Lexington Visitors’ Center (which is now located in the Old Courthouse) persons can purchase tickets to tour this house and three others (Mary Todd Lincoln House, Ashland home of Henry Clay, and Waveland) for one price of $25. I actually purchased my ticket last year when the Visitors Center (then about a block from where it is now) sold those tickets for $20, with a year to visit all four sites. Even at $25, I think it’s a good value.

The Hunt-Morgan house is conveniently located in downtown Lexington just a couple of blocks north of Main Street. The Gratz Park area where the house is located also contains some other historic buildings that can be seen from the outside though they are not available for tours. I think persons interested in the history of the 1800s will enjoy...

My family and I had a fabulous tour of Hopemont yesterday. Our guide, Paul, was so interesting and informative. Because we were the only people on the tour, we had the luxury of having him all to ourselves. He took his time, explaining so much about the history of the families who lived in the home, the process of hemp production, the Civil War and slavery as they pertained to the Hunts and the Morgans. The house itself is lovely, with many impressive architectural details like the winding staircase and the second story palladian window. It is furnished with a few important family treasures and a variety of handsome period pieces. If you have a love for historic house museums, please put Hopemont on your list to visit. Gorgeous places like this require a lot of upkeep. Whether or not the unique story they can tell will be available for another generation to enjoy depends on the patronage...

Went over the weekend and had a fantastic time! Our tour guide (Demetrius) was very knowledgeable about the house, and had a great personality that added so much to an already great tour. The house itself has an interesting history, and has connections to many major historical figures both inside and outside of the Hunt-Morgan family. Tour was $12 a person for adults and took about an hour and a half. Highly...