Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse
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Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse
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| Location | Avoca Rd., Middletown, Kentucky |
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| Coordinates | 38°15′41″N 85°30′21″W / 38.26139°N 85.50583°WCoordinates: 38°15′41″N 85°30′21″W / 38.26139°N 85.50583°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1786 |
| Built by | Chenoweth,Richard |
| NRHP reference # | 75000779 |
| Added to NRHP | July 1, 1975 |
The Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse is a historic stone structure near Avoca Road in Middletown, Kentucky. Built about 1786, it is believed to be the oldest standing structure in Jefferson County, and was the site of the Chenoweth Massacre, a 1789 Native American raid during the Northwest Indian War. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse is located near an active quarry in northeastern Middletown, in a wooded area off Avoca Road. It is near the junction of two branches of Chenoweth Run, but has been separated from the creek by the road and a railroad spur line. It is a stone structure two stories in height, set on an embankment over a spring. Entrance is achieved either through a ground level entrance on the lower level, or a secondary entrance on the upper level that would have required a plank or other bridging means to access. The interior includes a loft space that is only accessible by ladder, as a defensive measure. The stone of the structure is rubblestone, that has in places been pointed as part of rehabilitation or maintenance.
Richard Chenoweth was one of the first white settlers to arrive in what is now Jefferson County, in 1778. He acquired land along the tributaries of Floyd's Fork in what is now Middletown in 1785, on which he built a frame farmhouse and the springhouse. During the Northwest Indian War, a band of Native Americans attacked his home in what has been termed the Chenoweth Massacre. Both he and his wife were wounded and the farmhouse burned, but they were able to take refuge in the springhouse.
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