FAMILIES OF RIDGEWAY

Colonel Henry Massie & Helen Scott Bullitt

Henry Massie built Ridgeway from 1817 to about 1819 on a farm of more than 400 acres. He founded Portsmouth and New Market, Ohio, served as an Ohio state senator, and was president of the Louisville branch of the U.S. Bank.

Helen “Nelly” Scott Bullitt was the mistress of Ridgeway for more than 50 years. The daughter of Kentucky’s first Lieutenant Governor, she grew up at Oxmoor and was a great-niece of Patrick Henry.

Nelly is remembered for saying, “I married once for convenience, once for money, and once for love.” Her husbands were Henry Massie; John Lewis Martin, called “one of the richest men in Kentucky;” and her first love, Marshall Key, a nephew of Chief Justice John Marshall. She protected her property through special marriage contracts and maintained the estate until her death in 1872 at age 80.

In 1839, Nelly donated land from the Ridgeway farm for an Episcopal church. The community of St. Matthews takes its name from that church.

At his death, Henry Massie owned 43 enslaved people. Enslaved people built and ran the house and farm; their labor and lives are an essential part of Ridgeway’s history.

The Bullitt Family Inheritance

After Helen’s death, the estate was partitioned among Bullitt family nieces and nephews. William C. Bullitt received the house tract and later conveyed it to Joshua F. Bullitt.

Through these decades, Ridgeway remained in the extended family connected to its founding, preserving its character and continuity.

The Kaelin Family

The Kaelin family ran Ridgeway Farms Dairy from 1904 to 1922. Three of their children were born in the house; family accounts recall that one was born in the dining room.

Maud & Aubrey Cossar

Maud Cossar, a suffragist and one of the city’s first elected women officials, modernized Ridgeway. The Cossars added electricity and modern plumbing while preserving the home’s Federal-era character. Architect Frederic L. Morgan guided work on the structure, while landscape architect A. W. Cowell helped shape the grounds.

Their work established gardens and landscape features that remain part of Ridgeway’s beauty today.

H. Boone Porter, founder of Porter Paints, rented Ridgeway and loved it enough to build a replica. He dined there by candlelight. The relationship continued, with Ridgeway serving as the cover art for a Porter Paint brochure in the late 1990s.

Judge Churchill & Martha Humphrey

Judge Churchill Humphrey, a Naval Academy graduate, purchased 31.97 acres and continued to care for the property. Martha hosted memorable tea parties. Churchill built a trap door to the basement to escape his wife’s tea parties.

Four Italian paintings the Humphreys brought to Ridgeway still hang in the hallways today.

The Birkhead Family

When Ben Birkhead said, “I love everything about this house,” his wife Carole knew the deal was done. When Ben and Carole Birkhead purchased Ridgeway on July 1, 1977, for $202,000, they began what would become a labor of love lasting close to fifty years.

Since 1977, the Birkheads have restored Ridgeway with experts including architectural historian Clay Lancaster, craftsman Stanley Kelly, and paint analyst Matthew Mosca, who also worked on Mount Vernon.

The restoration used original paint colors confirmed by lab analysis, reproduction 1817 Virchaux wallpapers from the Library of Congress collection, and custom velvet Brussels carpets based on Nelly’s 1872 inventory. Carole studied Federal architecture deeply and wrote the definitive book on the house’s two-hundred-year story: Ridgeway: The House and the Home.

Carole and Ben’s meticulous work—stripping paint, replacing plaster, refinishing mantels, and preserving every original detail—is the reason Ridgeway stands as it does today. That legacy lives on in their children: Hays, Carrie, Ginny, and Linda. They are delighted to share their family home with you, ensuring that it remains what it has been from its earliest days—a family home, a gathering place, and a witness to the changing history of St. Matthews and Louisville.

Guided by integrity and a deep sense of stewardship, they hope to share their passion for this place through heartfelt service, ensuring everyone feels welcomed as family.