Chandler Sightings

Kentucky State Reformatory

This photo was taken by Larry Douglas Chandler, the current warden, on the front steps of the Kentucky State Reformatory, located in LaGrange, Kentucky, which is approximately thirty miles northeast of Louisville. Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler, under whose first administration the Reformatory was planned and constructed, was twice governor of Kentucky - 1935-1939 and 1955-1959. See more about "Happy" Chandler on the Chandler links page on this web site - http://www.thecfa.org/links_chandler.html.

From the (Kentucky Department of Corrections web site: (The Kentucky State Reformatory) is a medium security facility under the administration of the Kentucky Justice Cabinet, Department of Correction and is the state's second largest institution in term of inmate population with a 1998-bed capacity. The Kentucky State Reformatory was the third prison built in the Commonwealth of Kentucky following the establishment of a penal system by Kentucky’s Legislature in 1798. * * * * The concept of the Kentucky State Reformatory was made possible through the appropriation of funds by the 1936 General Assembly and matching federal funds form the Public Works Administration. A committee chosen by Governor A.B. "Happy" Chandler toured the country seeking ideas to bring back to Kentucky so that the new institution being planned would be the correctional showplace of America. The committee returned with a blueprint that was innovative as far as prison construction of the time was concerned. Architecturally, it appeared similar to schools and hospitals of that era. Instead of having individual cells for inmates, the plans called for open-wing dormitories. There was liberal space for each man and the design committee believed this would encourage the men to return to the community and lead crime-free lives. The prison hospital was said to be the best-equipped facility within a 15 state area. Overall, the Chandler Administration believed that the construction of the new buildings coupled with the adjacent area of farmland were Kentucky’s answer to prison rehabilitation. Up to the present day the physical plant has essentially retained its original configuration.

Larry D. Chandler

April 15, 2008

John Chandler House, Chesapeake City, Maryland

William W. "Bill" Chandler sent this photo taken in Chesapeake City, Maryland. Bill's wife Marion is shown in front of a historic home, the John Chandler House. Chesapeake City grew up along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, one of only two commercially vital sea-level canals in the United States. The 14-mile-long Chesapeake & Delaware Canal runs across Maryland and Delaware, connecting the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay and the Port of Baltimore. As early as the 17th century local settlers, including the famous Dutch surveyor and map maker Augustine Herrman, recognized the possibility of connecting the Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River. Not until 1824, after an unsuccessful first start further to the north, did construction begin at the Chesapeake City location. At it's completion in October of 1829, two structures were reported to have been standing in the town (then known as Bohemia Village): a pre-revolutionary building known as Chick's Tavern House and a lock house for collecting tolls. The town subsequently grew in response to the needs of the canal operations and commerce. In 1839, the town changed it's name to Chesapeake City in anticipation of big things to come and incorporated in 1849 when the population reached 400. The John Chandler House sign indicates it was built one year before the town was incorporated. Chesapeake City's historic area is on the National Historic Registry, as well as Maryland's Historic Registry. Sources: http://www.nap.usace.army.mil/sb/c&d.htm, http://www.chesapeakecity.com/about.htm

William W. Chandler

February 28, 2007

Chandler & Price Printing Press

Larry Douglas Chandler sent this photo of a Chandler & Price Printing Press. Larry tells us this press is used to print Maker's Mark labels at their distillery in Loretto, Kentucky. Information about the Chandler & Price Company can be found on the Amalgamated Printers' Association web site in a re-print of a 1977 journal article originally published in Type & Press. According to the APA site, the company was formed in 1881 by banker Harrison T. Chandler and William H. Price, son of a builder of printing presses.

Larry D. Chandler

February 20, 2008

Chandler Farm Death Site of Stonewall Jackson
New CFA member William W. "Bill" Chandler sent these photos taken in 1993 and the following informaton: On May 2, 1863, Stonewall Jackson threw his Corps against the Federal XI Corps and, with complete surprise, routed the Union forces. That evening, in reconnoitering the Federal positions, a Confederate outpost opened fire upon Jackson and his staff. Jackson was badly wounded, twice in the left arm and once in his right hand. He had his left arm amputated in the field, then was taken by ambulance to the farm of Thomas Coleman Chandler at Guiney's Station, Virginia (now called Guinea Station), a rough ride of some 27 miles. Mrs Jackson and daughter Julia joined the General on May 7. At first he seemed to be recovering, but General Jackson took a turn for the worse and died on May 10, 1863. He is buried in Lexington, Virginia. His left arm is buried separately, on the Chancellorsville Battlefield. The white building is the farm office in which Jackson died, and the nearby sign describes the incident. The lady in the photo is Bill's wife, Marion Wheelock Chandler. For more information on Stonewall Jackson and his death, see http://www.nps.gov/frsp/js.htm and http://www.civilwarhistory.com/stonewalljackson/jackson.htm. Medical details (1886) are available at http://members.aol.com/CWSurgeon0/jdeth.html.

William W. Chandler

February 14, 2007

The Chandler House, Okolona, Mississippi The Chandler House is included in Mississippi’s 2007 10 Most Endangered Historic Places, issued annually by the Mississippi Heritage Trust. A rare example of a residence that combines Greek Revival and Italianate stylistic features, the two-story wood-frame house has a colonnade of six octagonal columns, one of only about a half-dozen houses in the state with that feature. The original house, believed to be a small log cabin built in the 1850s, was extensively enlarged and remodeled to its present design in about 1870. In 1896 the home was purchased by Mary Knox Chandler, wife of Robert Walter “R. W.” Chandler, a young Okolona businessman with a furniture and undertaking business. Various members of the Chandler family owned the home for over 100 years until the current R. W. "Walter" Chandler deeded the 145-year-old home to Okolona Development Foundation Charities, Inc. (ODFC), a non-profit group, in 2005. The home has been vacant for approximately 25 years. The Save Okolona Society, which operates within ODFC, plans to rehabilitate the Chandler House and establish a museum. If you would like to help, donations may be made to Mississippi Heritage Trust, P. O. Box 577, Jackson, MS 39205. To donate by credit card, call 601-354-0200. You may designate your gift for the Chandler House and your donation is tax-deductible.

Photos by Chip Bowman, Mississippi Heritage Trust Submitted by Claudia Chandler Brocato July 15, 2007

McGinnis-Chandler Road McGinnis-Chandler Road is located in Madison County, Georgia. Nearby is the McGinnis family cemetery, where Dudley Jones Chandler, Nancy Frances Jolly Chandler, and many other family members are buried. (The cemetery web site has photographs of the markers of four Chandler graves.) The Dudley Jones Chandler homestead is located about half a mile from the cemetery (still occupied). The Chandler and McGinnis families were neighbors and inter-related. Bryan Chandler March 17, 2007

Chandler Printing Co., Inc., Corbin, Kentucky Dodie Chandler and her friend Bryan Lamb recently visited Corbin, Kentucky, birthplace of Dodie's father, Dewey Chandler. Bryan took this photo of a local business, Chandler's Printing Co., Inc. Dodie Chandler January 18, 2007

Chandler Building, Miami, Florida On a Thanksgiving trip to visit relatives in Miami, new member Bob Chandler snapped this photo of the Chandler Building in South Miami Beach. We have not been able to find out anything about the history of this building. Bob Chandler December 16, 2006

More Chandler Sightings in North Carolina Dodie has been on the road again! She sent these two images from a recent trip to North Carolina. This Chandler sponge, promoting Chandler's - Home of Dream Kitchens, was spotted in Troy Chandler's home. The bottom line says "DIP IN WATER SEE WHAT HAPPENS." Dodie's camera caught this sign in Sprinkle Creek, Madison County, North Carolina. Dodie Chandler June 6, 2006

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