Danville’s Willis Green House to be Auctioned … Saturday

Willis Green House – Danville, Ky. (Photo Source: Wilson Realty & Auction)

The Willis Green House in Danville, known as Waveland, will be the subject of an absolute auction this weekend (Saturday, June 8 @ 10:30 AM) (click here for auction flyer details). The property was listed in both 2009 and 2012 by The Blue Grass Trust on its Most Endangered Properties List.

Willis Green House – Danville, Ky. (Photo: email link)

The property was built in 1800 by Willis Green as part of a several hundred-acre farm. Green was an early settler of the Commonwealth having first arrived here as a surveyor in 1782. Green even represented Kentucky County in the Virginia Legislature. He and his wife, Sarah Reed, along with their 12 children, called Waveland home. It is said that the 1783 Green-Reed nuptials were “one of the first Christian marriages ever solemnized on Kentucky soil.”

Of the nine state constitutional conventions held in Danville, Green was a delegate at two. He was one of the original trustees of Transylvania Academy and was involved in the establishment of both Centre College (1819) and the Kentucky School for the Deaf (1822). From 1839-1845, Green served as a Whig in Congress as a representative from Kentucky.

It is a two-story, brick home in the Georgian style. Though vacant for decades and despite damage to windows, doors and a roof collapse, the interior woodwork – the product of Irish craftsmen from Philadelphia – remains intact and in good condition.

Those interested in the property may contact Barbara Hulette of Boyle Landmarks Trust, (859) 239-0038 or Bethany Rogers at the Heart of Danville, (859) 236-1990, with additional questions about the property.

Sources: The Blue Grass Trust, 2009; emailHerald-Leader; Wilson Realty