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In the years before the Revolutionary War, intrepid frontiersmen with roots in northern Ireland claimed vast tracts of land in Kentucky on which they developed plantations. They settled the land and with their families built enduring stone houses that became the centerpieces of their properties. In Early Stone Houses of Kentucky, author Carolyn Murray-Wooley examines these early frontier homes as well as the people who built and lived in them.

What traditions did these settlers call on to provide construction techniques and plans? How do the frontier dwellings of settlers with differing origins compare with these stone houses? Murray-Wooley looks at these and many other questions, exploring the transfer of cultural traditions from northern Ireland to the state of Kentucky.

Drawing on extensive field work and genealogical research, Murray-Wooley examines the history of these resourceful settlers and their architectural practices, uses scale drawings and floor plans to illustrate how the houses would have appeared at the time of construction, and compares them to modern photographs. The book includes color plates of more than thirty stone houses, as well as many black and white construction illustrations. Early Stone Houses of Kentucky is a fascinating look at the impact of a little-known community on the architecture and culture of the Bluegrass State.