Post: #1

You might not think this is an important story -- and it really isn't in the grand scheme of things -- but it is sad when parts of our collective heritage pass on into the night:

Quote:The 185-year-old Rabbit Hash General Store lay in ruins Monday, but it isn't dead.

Store proprietor Terrie Markesbery hopes to re-open as early as this weekend in the adjacent barn after a devastating fire Saturday that destroyed the landmark general store.

Markesbery wants to hold the weekly music series as planned in the barn this Sunday from 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. if she can get the proper permits for alcohol sales. She also wants to set up a temporary general store in the barn while the store is rebuilt.

"Who knows?" Markesbery said. "It could be just another chapter in the history of the general store. Chicago burned down, right?"

The foundation and some of the floor remain. The only part of the iconic facade of the store that was saved says "Tobacco, Sundries, Potions and Notions."

The loss of the Rabbit Hash General Store has hit the region hard. The store's small-town Americana charm helped make it one of the most recognizable landmarks in Northern Kentucky. People from all over the region have raised $32,000 as of Monday morning in a GoFundMe campaign hoping to reach $250,000 to rebuild the store.

The store was insured, but no one knows how much it will cost to re-open the store.

"The community is still there," Markesbery said. "The place is in people's heart. We just have to rebuild."

What ultimately destroyed the Rabbit Hash General Store on Saturday might never be known.

The investigation into the fire has concluded, said Belleview-McVille Fire Chief Jeff Hermes.

A potbelly stove might have sparked it because the fire started in the roof where the stovepipes were, Hermes said. But investigators won't know for sure, Hermes said. Firefighters ruled out arson.

The charred ruins have attracted crowds the past two days, Hermes said. He's urging people to avoid the area until the insurance investigators and the store's owner, the Rabbit Hash Historical Society, can complete their investigation and cleanup.

"It's a really big blow," Hermes said. "The community is trying to make a positive out of it. There are a lot of pledges of support."

Yeah, it's gone now:







While these sorts of losses aren't significant on their own usually, it matters in the aggregate when we lose the markers of our past. We often take for granted the significance that historical time imbues in the things or buildings around us. A new store will be erected in the place of the Rabbit Hash, but it simply won't have the value nor command the respect that the original had.

Here is a short video about the history of the store:





Any thoughts?

Post: #2

Thanks for the report, I'd never hear about some of this stuff if it weren't for your threads!

As for the store, of course it's sad but memories crumbling away is a part of life too.

Post: #3

Great story. Thanks for the share. I always hate to see parts of history destroyed. She has a good mindset though and I admire her ability to remain positive and look to the future. I think this story will have a happy ending.

Post: #4

This is why I like living in appalachia. Its got a lot of these cultural remnants. Wisconsin and Minnesota (aside from bars) lose historic places quickly due to winter weather, better infrastructure and mobility of people. Stuff like the Rabbit Hash store are hidden in the hollers and at most are replaced by a dollar general. Most of the time there just isn't enough flat real estate to drop in a walmart or otherwise.

Post: #5

Heartbreaking. General stores are a charming, pleasing, and unfortunately dying relic of an long gone age. Everything is corporatized and homogenized now - that general store is probably going to be replaced by a Walmart or a Shake Shack or something.

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I go with my family to see friends of the family and on the way there, we drive by a house that used to be the only general store on that road for a few miles. Now it's an abandoned house.

Post: #6

You should come over to the UK and see how many historic buildings of the Grade I and Grade II variety are left to burn down by ignorant owners and their foundation/charity helpers.

Basically, buildings in the age bracket of 200-500 years.

Fire is the number one enemy of these buildings, and considering their age they are more at risk as time goes on. They were always made from timber with furnishings made from material which will set alight easily and turn the place into an inferno within 5 minutes if left unchecked.

The Timber has a mixture of oils, paints and varnishes rubbed into it over hundreds of years and this, coupled with tinder box timber can be impossible to control with simple fire extinguishers.

The crowning glory of this is the ignorance by those who are in charge of the property. They fight tooth and nail to preserve the internal and external look & feel of the place at the cost of fire safety. Old wiring? PAH! We need the old wiring regardless of it being proven the cause of fires in these buildings can be caused by these very wires having a spark or feedback leading to overheating!

You won't even get anywhere near the likes of fire doors and firewalls installed to give time for the property to be saved.

These places suffer from fires and you are powerless to stop it going up like a bonfire. You could say there is nothing to preserve once its a pile of ashes but nonetheless they continue with their ignorance.

Old buildings are very susceptible to fire and rely heavily on the occupiers ability to fight any which occur and reduce the risk posed. I did a thread over a year ago based on nightclub fires and most bars, pubs and clubs are in old buildings with shitty exits.

If you're in an old building where fire is taking hold get the fuck out immediately.

Post: #7

Breaks my heart when I see old buildings go.

I spend a lot of time on uer.ca

Seeing some of those old buildings brings me back to a grittier time.

Post: #8

The snobby European in me looks at this and wonders how this thing survived the termites, carpenter ants, bark beetles, and of course fires for 186 years...

Now seriously though - it's a dirty rotten shame. I'm back in Europe but I do miss all those crusty American diners and wooden 19th century mansions out in the country side. Fortunately it shouldn't be too hard to rebuild this one - enough photos obviously and a good carpenter would put it back together in a few months. It's a landmark and perhaps the county/city may chip in? The owner should milk the public attention and start a restoration campaign.

Post: #9

That's something I miss from my ghosthunting days, exploring a bunch of old buildings with crazy history.