Saving a historical mansion

The 10th Annual Holt Home Community Day takes place September 21-22 in Breckinridge County to celebrate the ongoing restoration of the circa-1850 Italianate home of Judge Joseph Holt.

Twenty years ago, Susan Dyer, a retired schoolteacher, drove by the crumbling home and it broke her heart. Now, with help of the rural community and state and national organizations, the 6,225-square-foot home is becoming the newest jewel in Kentucky’s Civil War crown.

Dyer tells the story of the home’s restoration in her new book, Joseph Holt Mansion: Saving & Restoring the Home of Lincoln’s Judge Advocate General (Acclaim Press, $34.95). It relates colorful experiences during the journey and provides a how-to process for saving historical structures.

A book signing is scheduled for September 21 at the Breckinridge County Community Building in Hardinsburg at 6 p.m., and on September 22 at the Holt Home Community Day.