The Lanter Farm

by Marylee Lanter

The farm where I lived for fourteen years is located about a mile north of Williamstown on the West side of the Dixie Highway and the Southern Railroad.  There have been many changes in the farm and the farmhouse since 1880.  In 1880, when Newton Hogan sold the farm to H. Clay White, the house was called the Drover's Inn.  It was a stagecoach stop where stagecoach drivers from Covington to Lexington stopped to rest and exchange horses.

 There was, and still is, a large well in front of the house where the horses were watered.  One time when my great-aunt lived there, she had a pet horse named "Loafer."  One night when Loafer was out wandering around, he fell into the well.  However, they rescued him right away, and he recovered from the accident.

 Another horse on this farm had come originally from Virginia.  He managed to break out and return to his former home.  To do this, he went to Covington and swam across the Ohio River.  The owner sent someone to Virginia to get him; but after he was brought back here, he did the same thing again.

 My great-aunt's father raised 28 different breeds of chickens and shipped eggs all over the United States.

 On our farm, and still standing, is the only full basement barn in Grant County.  The barn was built for the racehorses they kept on the farm.  The horses were raced on the ridge behind the house where my parents live now.  If you look closely, you can still see traces of the racing ring.

 On our farm there are several creeks and springs.  One spring is the starting point of Williams Creek, named for William Arnold, the founder of Williamstown.  The water that falls to the east of my home runs into the Licking River; on the west side, the water runs to the Kentucky River.

 The original barn and part of the old inn are still standing.  However, in 1957, my family had the old log cabin town down to build a house where it stood on the ridge between the old Drover's Inn and Barnes Pike.  The Old cabin was 150 years old and there are probably many interesting stories connected with it, also.

Because of good springs here, our farm used to be a favorite camping place for Indian tribes.  Every spring my father and uncle Clyde pick up interesting Indian relics from the fields, where they have been uncovered by the plow or other farm machinery.   

The history of our farm may not be interesting to anyone else, but it is to me.

From a collection of essays written in American Literature Eleven.  The class was taught by Ms. Hazel Ogden of Grant County High School in the 1963-1964 school year, and was typed by the typing classes of Mrs. Mattie Cox.  It is copyrighted by the Grant County Schools, and is used here with their kind permission. We found a copy in UK's King Library.