Stockton-Britt Farm

The house was a substantial Greek Revival/Italianate brick farmhouse dating to the 1850s-1860s, and the barn was a large timber structure of the same period. In the 1940s the property was acquired by the Britt family who planted an apple orchard. In the early-1960s the orchard was developed as the Orchard Heights subdivision. The main farm was kept as a horse farm. During the 1980s-1990s, acres of pasture were sold along SR 26, quickly sprouting the hotels, motels, gas stations, and restaurants that make up the sprawl from Creasy Lane to I-65. The Stockton-Britt house was last occupied in the 1970s. Dense brush completely surrounded the house during the 1990s. A corn crib on the site was demolished and replaced by a chain restaurant around 1997-1998. After the death of Mr. Britt, the property was sold and the house and barn were demolished in 2000. The trees--many up to 3' in diameter--were all cut down. One businessman managed to purchase the remaining woodwork in the house and the right to recycle all of the brick. The site remained undeveloped for almost 10 years.

A photograph taken just before demolition in 2000.
A panormaic view of the farm taken in 1999 by Bob Williams. Note the house is completely covered by brush and trees at right center.
The house from the north, January 1, 2000. Note the large, old trees near the house. January, 2000. View from driveway of Logan's Roadhouse. Note the dense brush around the house.
View from the east, parking lot of Chile's Restaurant. Note again the large trees and the barn at right. 7-29-2000. The owner hired a bulldozer crew to "clear brush." This also involved cutting down all the trees and demolishing the summer kitchen and most of the rear of the house. The demolition permit was not to go into effect for over another month at this point, this damage being a clear violation of the legal 60-day waiting period. This violation attracted media attention.
9-25-2000. The Stockton-Britt house is demolished. Note that all of the trees have been cut down. 10-4-2000. A rough pit is all that marks the site of the house. Stone from the foundation and large old timbers from the virgin forests of the mid-19th century lay broken and scattered. Soon after the barn was demolished, some parts being salvaged.