Ross Woods Subdivision 1978
June 21, 1978 Courier-Journal
Ross Woods subdivision was developed in 1978 by Kenneth F. Hinton and Don Henson on the grounds associated with the Van Horne-Ross House. It includes Rosswood Drive and a portion of Ridgewood. Ridgewood was later extended in 1999 onto property once associated with the Mary A. Crain Private Hospital, as Phase 2 of the Woods of Pewee Valley subdivision.
The Ross Woods development was considered controversial at the time it was developed. An October 2, 1978 Courier-Journal article called "Facing the Facts" by staff writer Sheldon Shafer talked about efforts to fend off suburban growth in Pewee Valley:
The Ross Woods development was considered controversial at the time it was developed. An October 2, 1978 Courier-Journal article called "Facing the Facts" by staff writer Sheldon Shafer talked about efforts to fend off suburban growth in Pewee Valley:
January 1983 Call of the Pewee
Pewee Valley, made famous by Annie Fellows Johnston's fiction, today is facing an inescapable fact.
The small Oldham County community ... is having to fend off the suburban spillover from Jefferson County, which is less than a mile away.
New subdivisions -- Confederate Estates, Village Green, Ashbrooke and Briargate (Editor's note only Confederate Estates is technically inside Pewee Valley's city limits) -- are pressing against Pewee Valley and the historic homes, such as the Beeches and Tuliphurst, that it harbors.
The Jefferson Freeway (editor's note: renamed the Gene Snyder Freeway or I-265) have put the city of 1,200 people in easy reach of Jefferson County's shopping malls and job centers, on which Pewee Valley residents depend.
Ten years ago, choice residential lots in Pewee Valley were available for about $3,000 an acre. Now the price for the same lot is $20,000...
... As the community has grown, some toes have been stepped on. "I hate all the progress," said Mrs. Charles Brackett, the widow of the writer and producer responsible for such film classics as "Lost Weekend," "Titanic," "Sunset Boulevard," and "The King and I." (Her husband never lived in Pewee Valley.)
Her present pique is that the estate next to her own secluded sanctuary is being turned into Ross Woods subdivision, which will have almost two dozen homes.
John Frith Stewart, the Louisville attorney a year into his third term as Pewee Valley mayor .. said ... So far,... Pewee Valley has been fairly successful at keeping the reins on development. Ross Woods is only one of three subdivisions --- which have a total of about 45 lots -- now being built inside the city. And the city has seen to it that most of the trees on the Ross estate will be preserved...
Ken and Phyllis Hinton renovated and lived in the old Van Horne-Ross House for many years after Ross Wood was developed. Ken and his son also assisted with renovating Pewee Valley's Town Hall during the 1980s, including adding the front porch and repairing the steeple so the bell could once more be rung to bring City Council to order.
The small Oldham County community ... is having to fend off the suburban spillover from Jefferson County, which is less than a mile away.
New subdivisions -- Confederate Estates, Village Green, Ashbrooke and Briargate (Editor's note only Confederate Estates is technically inside Pewee Valley's city limits) -- are pressing against Pewee Valley and the historic homes, such as the Beeches and Tuliphurst, that it harbors.
The Jefferson Freeway (editor's note: renamed the Gene Snyder Freeway or I-265) have put the city of 1,200 people in easy reach of Jefferson County's shopping malls and job centers, on which Pewee Valley residents depend.
Ten years ago, choice residential lots in Pewee Valley were available for about $3,000 an acre. Now the price for the same lot is $20,000...
... As the community has grown, some toes have been stepped on. "I hate all the progress," said Mrs. Charles Brackett, the widow of the writer and producer responsible for such film classics as "Lost Weekend," "Titanic," "Sunset Boulevard," and "The King and I." (Her husband never lived in Pewee Valley.)
Her present pique is that the estate next to her own secluded sanctuary is being turned into Ross Woods subdivision, which will have almost two dozen homes.
John Frith Stewart, the Louisville attorney a year into his third term as Pewee Valley mayor .. said ... So far,... Pewee Valley has been fairly successful at keeping the reins on development. Ross Woods is only one of three subdivisions --- which have a total of about 45 lots -- now being built inside the city. And the city has seen to it that most of the trees on the Ross estate will be preserved...
Ken and Phyllis Hinton renovated and lived in the old Van Horne-Ross House for many years after Ross Wood was developed. Ken and his son also assisted with renovating Pewee Valley's Town Hall during the 1980s, including adding the front porch and repairing the steeple so the bell could once more be rung to bring City Council to order.
Donald Henson went on to develop a second Pewee Valley subdivision, Wooldridge Place, in 1994 on the 10-acre property associated with the Truman-Miller-Richard estate off LaGrange Road and Wooldridge Avenue. His daughter, Renotta Henson, has owned Victory Home Builders since 1999. Two of her Pewee Valley projects have included modernizing the interior of the Truman-Miller-Richard House as well as another historic home on Old Forest Road.
Donald Henson went on to develop a second Pewee Valley subdivision, Wooldridge Place, in 1994 on the 10-acre property associated with the Truman-Miller-Richard estate off LaGrange Road and Wooldridge Avenue. His daughter, Renotta Henson, has owned Victory Home Builders since 1999. Two of her Pewee Valley projects have included modernizing the interior of the Truman-Miller-Richard House as well as another historic home on Old Forest Road.
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