Brothers

128 E. Main St, Campbellsville, KY  42718

C09-18-15, 128 East Main Street, D. W. Gowdy General Store, TAC-41, 1895 (alterations 1960s; 2000s, 2008)

This three bay wide, two-story tall brick building was constructed of common bond brick, continuing the same design as T AC-42 to west. Pedimented metal window heads, an iron storefront, leaded glass transoms, brick corbelling along the decorative tin parapet wall and pressed tin ceilings on the 1st floor; Italianate; English bond; Coakley and Durham written in black and white tile in recessed at the front entrance makes this an excellent building that completes the block.

The first known shop building to occupy this lot as shown by the Fire Insurance Sanborn maps was a three-story building that was either severely damaged or destroyed by fire sometime between 1886 and 1895. By 1895, a two-story building is shown on the map, which housed a general store on the first floor and clothing and furnishings on the second floor that was probably D. W. Gowdy’s General Store since he was in business here and owned the building from the late-1800s until the early 1900s. Around 1911, the Davis Brothers had a general store here that was damaged by the March 1911 fire. Shortly thereafter, Buchanan & Sanders opened a hardware store that later became Coak1ey and Durham Dry Goods (c. 1922-1930). The building housed the Firestone store from the 1940s to the 1970s and then became an appliance store.

This building was renovated to become a restaurant in 2008 and 2013.

The building continues the scale and design of another of Campbellsville’s relatively unaltered late-19th century storefront blocks.

Source/Credits: Campbellsville Local Historic Designation Report 2006 (pdf)