Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/62230
[History] Inheriting a home from your parents is not unusual. Inheriting one that stretches back through six generations of your family is. I Historic Hand-Me- Down >>By David Serchuk Photos by John Nation t's easy to miss the Hikes-Hunsinger House as you drive down Hikes Lane in southeastern Louisville. Surrounded by the sub- urbia of the Hikes Point neighborhood, you could be forgiven for blowing right by the solid brown-brick house. But if you knew what to look for, it would be impossible to miss — a comparatively large two-story structure on two acres of land. Te home is not all that imposing, but it looks classic and tasteful, and literally from a different era. Te home's current owner and caretaker is Charles "Chas" Ste- phens. He is a bit of a raconteur, especially at ease talking about his home, which has been in his family since it was built in 1820 (some histories say 1824) by Stephens' direct ancestor, George Hikes Jr. To- day, thanks to Stephens' patient and continual care, the house looks both of its time and invitingly livable, highlighted by a cozy Vic- torian back porch, flowering magnolia trees, and rooms filled with period antiques, either inherited (such as a chest that came with the family from Pennsylvania that dates to the mid-1700s) or purchased by Stephens. But to him this isn't a museum; it's simply home, as it has been to his family since James Monroe was president. Stephens, 49, is president of C.E. Stephens Inc., a local packaging firm, as well as a partner with his older brother Claude in Genera- tion 14, a consulting firm hired to make businesses environmentally sound. Tough born and raised in Jeffersontown, Stephens spent his entire life around the home and eventually took it over from his mother, Barbara Hunsinger Stephens, in 2006. When he was a child, the house was a working farm on 50 acres, which tied him to the land from an early age and led to all sorts of Tom Sawyer-ish adventures. "Oh, hell yes, I loved coming here," Stephens says. "I grew up in J-town, but Claude and I were here all the time. Te family was farming corn, beans or barley and, when they'd harvest, my grandfather would keep 20 to 30 bales of hay that we'd play in." By today's standards some of Stephens' stories can surprise. For example, he learned how to drive courtesy of a '50s-era Plymouth the family had around. Te twist is that he was only seven when this 5.12 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE [35]