Gary Boswell, an Owensboro businessman and State Senator, bought the iconic Beauchamp-Taylor farm and house on KY 60 in Hancock County at an auction earlier this week. He views it as a prime location for economic development and tourism in the area.
Longtime Owensboro Mayor and Haweseville native C. Waitman Taylor owned the property until his death.
Boswell and Taylor were longtime friends, so Boswell jumped at the opportunity to purchase the Taylor family’s farm.
“I’m hoping we can attract new business or industry and replace the 600 jobs lost after Century Aluminum closed,” Boswell said. “I definitely plan on keeping it whole. It would make a great winery or distillery and an excellent tourism destination.”
Legend has it that several Beauchamp descendants returned home from the California gold rush with gold and hid it on the farm. And while Boswell said that didn’t sway his decision, he enjoys discussing the possibility.
“The Beauchamp family was very involved in gold mining during the California gold rush,” he said. “The Taylors have a deed on the farm, where any gold found over the next 20 years must be split with them. If we find any gold here, it will be by accident.”
Boswell paid $492,000 for the land and home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house was built in 1850 and was the first plantation home in Hancock County. Boswell wants to preserve it if possible and is exploring the feasibility of restoring it.
“It’s an old, beautiful home. I remember when C. Waitman Taylor purchased it and would have several social events there,” Boswell said. “There is a building full of political memorabilia from where his grandfather and great-grandfather both served as state representatives.”
Robert Beauchamp was a farmer and businessman who introduced the plantation system of farming to Hancock County. According to The Historical Marker Database, the plantation was a self-sufficient community with several kilns to make bricks for other buildings, a blacksmith shop, loomhouses, and a dairy.
