Kirkman-McClaid House

06/02/2026

Rescuing the 1st floor closet hardware!

​The first set is down to bare metal, revealing a fascinating mix of late-Victorian hardware (circa 1880–1910). For the fellow old-house nerds out there, here is exactly what was hiding under all that white paint:

▪︎ ​The Mineral K**b (Popular c. 1850s–1890s): Often called "Bennington" or "Rockingham" k***s, these aren't metal or stone—they are actually made of fired clay pottery! The clay was mixed with metallic oxides before baking to create that distinct, glossy, mottled dark brown marble-like glaze.

▪︎ ​The Stamped Steel K**bs (Circa 1890–1910): A product of late 19th-century industrial innovation, "wrought" or stamped k***s were made by pressing two separate sheets of steel into cup shapes using heavy factory machinery. The halves were then mechanically crimped together over a central iron core, leaving a distinct raised "equator" seam right around the center. They were the ultimate durable, lightweight utility choice for closets and secondary rooms.

​We’re planning to replicate the original factory look for these pieces using a premium oil primer and gloss black enamel to mimic the historic "Japanned" finish.

​But the real mystery is on the bench right now. The second lockset is currently under a heavy Citristrip wrap for the next 24 to 48 hours.

Once that paint liquefies, we are doing a total internal teardown to clean out the leaf springs and hunt down the original foundry or manufacturer's mark hidden on the back face.
​Place your bets now: Corbin, Russell & Erwin, Reading Hardware Co., Sargent???

​ **b

06/01/2026

The backstory of the man who built our home reads like a 19th-century adventure novel!

​Before Benjamin Franklin "Frank" McClaid ever laid a single foundation block or framed the gorgeous turret on our home here in Elkton, he lived a remarkably colorful "first life" up north. Thanks to a deep dive into some newly discovered 1916 archival newspaper sketches, we finally have the whole story of his journey to Todd County.

​Here is a look at our builder’s life before he made Kentucky history:
​
From the Classroom to the Carpentry Bench

​In 1880, census records show Frank was a 20-year-old schoolteacher in rural Hardin County, Ohio. But he had a "great resolution to see the world" and a knack for precision trades. He had been teaching for two years and had already completed a three-year carpentry apprenticeship, entirely trading his schoolbooks for blueprints by 1883.
​
Training with a Global Industrial Titan

​Frank packed his bags for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to work for E.P. Allis & Co.—the undisputed largest builders of industrial flour mills in the world at the time. He wasn't just a basic house carpenter; he was formally trained as an industrial construction engineer. For four years, his specialized millwright skills took him on a massive cross-country tour, constructing heavy machinery frameworks "all over the west and north."
​
The Great Political Escape to Elkton

​By the mid-1880s, Frank was working out of Indiana. A staunch, old-school Democrat, he found himself so utterly miserable after a sweeping Northern Republican political landslide that he literally begged his employers to send him somewhere—anywhere—where he could find a few fellow Democrats!

​His company obliged. They handed him a train ticket to Kentucky with plans to install heavy mechanical equipment along a four-town milling circuit: Glasgow, Auburn, Adairville, and finally... Elkton.
​
Captivated by a "Democrat’s Daughter"

​Elkton was supposed to be just a temporary final stop on his construction contract. But fate had other plans. While working in town, Frank met Ella B. Stinnett, the daughter of William W. Stinnett—the town's fiercely Democratic former Sheriff and current Town Marshal.

​At 8:00 PM on Thursday, June 30, 1887, Frank and Ella were married in a beautiful parlor wedding at her parents' home. Frank fell so deeply in love with Ella (and the town) that he proudly declared he was never returning to Indiana or Ohio. He immediately went into business for himself as an independent contractor, eventually bringing that elite, industrial-grade Milwaukee engineering precision right to West Main Street to construct our home.

​》 History lovers: Next time you look up at that beautiful exterior turret, remember it wasn't just thrown together—it was framed by a traveling industrial engineer who came to town on a rail contract and stayed for love.

​

05/31/2026

"I feare we never shall meet in this world..." | A Voice from Todd County, 1834.
​

Imagine opening a letter from March 1834 and reading about a local tragedy, a religious revival, and a heartbreaking goodbye—all on a single sheet of paper.

​This week, the digital doors to our historic archive are officially opening, and we wanted to share what we consider the "All-Star" of the collection: a beautifully preserved letter written right here in Todd County, exactly 192 years ago.

​In this letter (Accession #2025.322), William and Susan Searse write to Nicklas Houx and other family members in Missouri, weaving together the heavy realities of frontier life:

▪︎ Tragedy & Resilience: They share the sudden loss of Margaret Driskill and her two daughters, noting they have taken custody of a newborn baby girl "only a few hours old."
▪︎ The "Grate Stir": They report on a massive religious revival sweeping the local area ("there is a Grate stir about Religion amongst the Baptist...").

A Final Goodbye: Knowing the sheer distance and danger of 19th-century travel, they close with the poignant fear that they will never see their living mother or siblings again in this life.

​Long before the Kirkman-McClaid House was built in 1895, letters like this were weaving the social fabric of our community.

​The Digital Doors Are Open!
We have been quietly working behind the scenes to build an online digital archive to preserve regional ephemera, correspondence, and historical artifacts connected to the house and its surrounding history.

​Today, we have over 150 items fully cataloged, transcribed, and open for educational and research browsing! This is a living, breathing project, and we are adding more to it every week.

​》 Tap the link in our "About" section to step back in time and explore the full Omeka collection!

(Or just click here:)
kirkmanmcclaidhouse.omeka.net

​

05/31/2026

Milestone Alert: Over 100 Hours In & The Heart Pine Explodes To Life!

​Today has been an exceptionally exciting and deeply rewarding day in the workshop. We have officially crossed the 100-hour mark on this 1895 high-Victorian front door restoration, and we celebrated by laying down what we think is the final coat of shellac on the exterior face!

​This wasn’t a quick "open a can and brush" job—it was a meticulous, day-long chemistry process. We mixed our own fresh finish entirely from raw, dewaxed amber shellac flakes and denatured alcohol in a sacrificial mason jar, playing with different "pound cuts" to get the perfect result:

▪︎ ​Coat 1 (The 1.5-lb Cut): A beautiful, ultra-thin mixture designed to dive deep into the bone-dry pores of the 131-year-old wood, sealing it from the inside out and flowing flawlessly through those aggressive, historic 1/2" industrial cutter saw grooves.

▪︎ ​Coat 2 & Beyond (The 2.0-lb Cut): Shifting to a heavier, more syrupy body coat to build that rich, three-dimensional, museum-grade liquid-glass depth that makes old-growth heart pine absolutely sing.

​The depth, the character, and even the subtle "green ghost" paint remnants trapped in the Eastlake carvings look absolutely phenomenal.

​Now, the waiting game begins while the shellac completely cures and outgasses. We are technically clear to apply the protective spar urethane topcoat on Tuesday, but we may just hold off until Wednesday morning for good measure to ensure the absolute perfect, rock-hard foundation. Once that final weather-defying shield is dry, it will finally reclaim its throne in the east!

​In the meantime, the work doesn't stop. We are still eagerly awaiting the fabrication of our custom commissioned stained glass insert, so on Monday, we are making a run to procure a simple, clear replacement glass pane to act as our temporary stopgap.

​Before that glass goes in, we have some structural surgery on deck. We are going to use glue, a heavy-duty ratchet strap, and sheer willpower to pull the middle of the door back into itself, closing up a historic gap and restoring its perfect rectangular alignment.

​The 100-hour milestone is in the rearview mirror, the original door jewelry (those copper-japanned hinges) are clean, and the grain is glowing. We couldn't be happier with how this piece of history is fighting its way back to the front porch!

​

05/29/2026

Uncovering the "Door Jewelry": 131-Year-Old Cast Iron Gold

The Hardware Breakdown:
- 2 Ornate Cast Iron Hinges
- Original Copper Japanned Finish (Rescued!)
- 15 Original Slotted Screws Saved
- 1 Bent Pin
- 1 Snapped Head (The ultimate 15-minute extraction battle)

While waiting for the specialized amber shellac to arrive on Tuesday, the focus shifted to the door’s original jewelry—and the results are absolutely staggering.

These massive 1895 Eastlake hinges cleaned up beautifully, revealing their original copper japanned finish. In the late 19th century, manufacturers would plate cast iron with a thin layer of copper, apply a dark asphaltum varnish (the japanning), bake it, and buff the high spots to give it this fiery, high-contrast, three-dimensional look. Finding this original finish intact under decades of grime is a massive win for the house.

Of course, old house hardware never comes completely without a fight. Over a century of structural settling and heavy use left some battle scars on the steel center pins:

> Pin #1 has a sweeping architectural bend right under the decorative finial head.

> Pin #2 was a total hostage situation. Someone decades ago tried to force it out and snapped the decorative ball head clean off. It took 15 minutes of precise workshop surgery to finally coax the rust-welded steel cylinder out of the knuckles.

The next step is gently heating and straightening the bent pin, and hunting down a period-accurate donor finial tip for the broken one.

Even the original slotted wood screws survived the cleanup. No modern drywall screws are going anywhere near this door—these originals are getting wire-wheeled, lubricated with beeswax, and driven back into the heart pine by hand, exactly where they were set 131 years ago.

Details matter. The jewelry is ready.

05/25/2026

“May these days of leisure be trimmed in lace and lamplight, where every hour glows with small delights and the heart remembers its own elegance.” ~ BHM

05/23/2026

05/22/2026

Plot Twist: Historic Heartbreak, Silver Linings, and a Century-Old Upgrade

​The Updated Tally:
¤ 98.75 Hours (Staring down the 100-hour mark!)
¤ 1,300 Q-Tips
¤ 650 Cotton Balls
¤ 255+ Cloth Rags
¤ 1 Shattered Piece of 1895 History

​If you’ve been following along on this 1895 Eastlake door marathon, you know it’s been a journey of extreme patience. Well, yesterday delivered the ultimate restoration rite of passage: The glass broke.

​At first, I thought it might have been a later replacement. But when I cleared away the shards, I noticed a distinct Coke-bottle green tint on the edges and that beautiful, telltale waviness when looking straight on. This wasn't modern glass at all—it was genuine, late-19th-century historic cylinder glass, likely original to the house.

​Losing a piece of 131-year-old history hurts, but in the restoration world, we don't throw away a finite resource. The largest shards are being carefully packed away in the workshop. Down the road, they’re going to be cut down to frame historic photos of the house, replace small window panes, or fit a transom. The history stays here.

​As for the door itself, this accident is a turning point. It was practically begging for a grander entrance. I’ve officially reached out to the artisans at ArtLink Studio in Clarksville to inquire about commissioning a custom, period-accurate, Victorian jewel-toned stained glass insert to fill the empty 26.5" x 39.5" frame.

​Meanwhile, the wood prep is officially, completely, 100% DONE on both sides. To stand the door upright and see it whole for the first time in nearly 100 work hours is unbelievable.

​The Exterior: The deep "green ghost" linseed paint is safely locked under a smooth surface, ready to act as a gorgeous sub-surface shadow under the finish.

​The Interior: The meticulous dental-pick surgery paid off. Every bit of crusty white paint is gone, the original 1895 circular saw mill marks are fully exposed, and I’ve decided to leave the old curtain-rod holes open to honor the timeline of the families who lived here before us.

​What’s next? The door is tucked away and completely dust-free. The specialized dewaxed amber shellac arrives on Tuesday to begin the color-blending and sealing passes.
​We took a hit, but we save the pieces and keep moving forward—just like this old house.

It's been QUITE the journey....

Master Supplies & Materials Inventory (Fully Exhaustive)

​Solvents & Chemicals
▪︎ ​1.5 gallons paint stripper / Citristrip
▪︎ ​1 can of After Wash (Added — used for surface neutralization)
▪︎ ​1 quart (2 pints) denatured alcohol
▪︎ ​1 Liter low-odor mineral spirits
▪︎ ​2 pints acetone
▪︎ 2​50 pre-moistened alcohol wipes

​Applicators, Clean-Up & Waste
▪︎ ​1,300 Q-tips
▪︎ ​650 cotton balls
▪︎ ​255+ cloth wipes / shop rags
▪︎ ​2 rolls of paper towels
▪︎ ​150+ pairs of vinyl exam gloves
▪︎ 1​15 pairs of nitrile gloves
▪︎ ​5 thirteen-gallon plastic garbage bags
▪︎ ​1 heavy bag of consolidated paint scrapings/trash

​Tools, Specialty Gear & Abrasives
▪︎ ​1 set of stainless steel dental picks (Added — used for micro-groove paint extraction)
▪︎ ​1 Dremel rotary tool & detail bits (Added — used for cleaning fluted channels)
▪︎ ​Custom shop-made wood blocks (Added — used to back sandpaper for crisp molding profiles)
▪︎ ​2 plastic putty knife / pull-scraper (Added — used for pulling up interior sludge)
▪︎ ​3 carbide scraper blades total
▪︎ ​2 brass detail wire brushes
▪︎ ​6 sheets of 100-grit sandpaper
▪︎ ​5 sheets of 150-grit sandpaper
​▪︎ 6 disc sheets of 220-grit sandpaper

​

05/20/2026

UPDATE: A Tiny Detour Into the Late 1800s

​For everyone following along with the exterior door saga, we just hit one of those historic milestones that reminds us exactly why we do this.

​While spending the past 7 hours cleaning up the interior side of the door with dental picks, I noticed a loose piece of top trim. Instead of just leaving the gap or patching over it, I carefully backed out the original nails and lifted the piece entirely to clean out the channel and re-secure it properly.
​I couldn't figure out why my fingers were instantly stained pitch-black... until the preservationist lightbulb went off.

​The Ultimate Victorian Handshake

​Tucked perfectly inside that untouched groove was a thick layer of ultra-fine, slightly greasy black powder: trapped coal soot from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the house "breathed" over the last 130+ years, draft currents pulled the fine soot from the old coal fireplaces right into the micro-gaps around the glass panels. Because that trim piece stayed nailed down all this time, it acted like a perfect time capsule, shielding a physical record of the daily indoor climate from subsequent paint jobs and modern cleanups. Naturally, I had to grab a cotton swab for the archival records before cleaning the channel out!

​The Good News & Next Steps

​The absolute best part of this discovery? The hidden wood underneath is flawless.

​The Timber: The old-growth wood inside the groove is bone-dry, incredibly tight-grained, and structurally perfect. No rot, no moisture tracking, just beautiful, healthy history.

​The Finish Plan: Now that the channel is clean, the restoration plan is locked in. The dewaxed amber shellac flakes to seal the wood and pull out that deep, historic glow - shipped this morning.

​The Protection: Because it's an exterior door, we'll be top-coating it with a high-durability marine urethane (spar varnish) to give it the flexibility and UV protection it needs to handle the elements.

​The deeper we get into this door, the more stories it tells. Stay tuned—the finish prep is up next!

​

05/20/2026

Slow detail work