Built in 1787, Ellerslie, the second-oldest house in Kentucky and the oldest in Fayette County, was being razed in January 1947. Originally owned by General Levi Todd, the house, on Richmond Road at the No. 1 reservoir, was then owned by the Lexington Water Co. and was being torn down because the condition of the walls and beams was considered unsafe. Gen. Todd and his brothers helped found Lexington and were prominent landowners and statesmen. Todd also was the first Fayete county clerk and had his offices in the house, so it was frequently referred to as Fayette’s first courthouse. Todd was the grandfather of Mary Todd Lincoln. Materials from the two-story brick structure were to be used to build Sunday school rooms as an addition to the East Hickman Baptist church.The oldest house in the state still stands: the William Whitley house in Lincoln County. Herald-Leader Archive Photo