Arcadia Manor, listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, is located on Bloomingdale Pike (formerly Reedy Creek Road, earlier Kentucky Road, and originally The Wilderness Road) on a tract granted to Robert Samuel Broshear in 1792 for Revolutional War service. Broshear built a homestead log cabin just south of the existing garden rock wall.

Thomas Fain acquired the property from Broshear heirs in 1841 and built a mercantile business on the site. Thomas was the grandson of Captain John Fain who was killed by the Indians in the Battle of Sitka in 1788. Beginning in 1846 he was named postmaster and continued in that capacity until his death in 1891. From 1870 to 1876, Fain built the Manor, constructed of handmade brick with walls 15 inches thick, as the crown jewel of his plantation and mercantile business.

Thomas Fain named the house ”Arcadia”. The house, together with his store, post office, livery stable, and cemetery were such a dominant aspect of the area that the surrounding community adopted the name Arcadia. From this compound, in addition to the 2-story brick house, six log structures survive today: barn, spring house, smoke house, corn crib and two (2) log cabins known as; (1) the Fain Boys Study, where two sons of Thomas Fain prepared for their careers in law; and (2) Aunt Beck’s Cabin, the residence of a former slave of Thomas Fain. Construction dates for these log buildings are unknown but are generally assumed to be various times between 1841 when Fain acquired the property and 1876 when the brick house was completed.

Thomas Fain passed the property to his son, Hugh, in 1886. In the depression of the 1890’s, Hugh’s liabilities came to exceed his assets, and the property was sold at public auction in 1898 to Charles C. Ramsey, great grandson of Joel Ramsey, bodyguard to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

The property has remained in the Ramsey family until the present. C.C. Ramsey passed the property to his son John D. Ramsey in 1924, John D. Ramsey died intestate in 1958 and the estate went unsettled until 1974 when Joseph H. Ramsey acquired the house. Joseph performed significant structural work (rock wall, roofs, porches) to the badly under maintained structure and probably saved it from a wrecking ball.

Joseph Ramsey died intestate in 2000, and Lynn Turner, great-grandson of Charles C. Ramsey, and wife, Patricia, bought the property in 2004. They began an extensive renovation of the property that continues today. Significant enough progress had been made by April 30, 2004, that they were able to host the wedding rehearsal dinner for Ann Williams, the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Thomas Fain, who built the house.

Special Acknowledgments for our Restoration Crew:
 
Carpenters          - Gene (Buck) Riner, Carl Riner, Mark Leonard
Electrician           - George Elkins
Plaster & Tile       - Jimmy Powers
Painter                - Mike Cox
Log Cabins          - Freddie Caudill
Masonry              - Doug Long