Ghostly Tenants in Horky House
On Centre’s Campus there is a building named the Horky House. At present, this building houses various staff members in the finance and human resources departments, but previously was the home of admissions and financial aid staff. Originally this building was named the Russel-Thomas House for its architect, Robert Russel Jr. (who was also responsible for the construction of Old Centre) as well as one of the many owners of the house, Jo Thomas who lived there from 1859-1888. This building, now registered as a National Historic Place, was purchased by Centre College in 1989, was extensively renovated in 1991 upon the death of Loine Floyd and renamed the Horky House for John H. Horky, Class of 1932, and his wife Lorette. It was suggested to simply tear down the existing structure and build a new one for significantly less money, but Michael F. Adams (president of Centre college at the time) believed that the home held enough historical significance that it was worth the extra funds to fully renovate it and maintain its historical integrity. By making the decision to renovate the home, Dr. Adams was inherently keeping the memory of the Floyd sisters alive for generations to come.
As mentioned previously, there were various owners of the Horky House, including the Floyd Sisters (Lucille and Loine) mentioned by Associate Dean and Director of Admission, Pam Baughman. These sisters were both educators, Lucille was a 2nd grade teacher and Loine was a music teacher according to Mrs. Ann Young, who was a student of Lucille Floyd’s. Lucille and Loine were the daughters of Alta and Dewitt Floyd and had another sister Martha and a brother Thomas. Dr. Floyd, Lucille and Loine’s father, originally purchased the home in 1930 and the sisters began living there with their family and eventually kept the home for themselves well into their adult lives. Lucille lived in the home for many years until her death in 1984 and Loine remained in the home until moving to an assisted living home briefly before hear death in 1991.
The Floyd sisters were very close. So close in fact that they shared their profession, their travels, and even their home. “The Sisters,” as Centre College staff would call them, were both educators and lived in the house together for a majority of their adult lives. In 1993, Pam Baughman graduated from Centre and began working in the building as a member of the admissions staff where she learned about The Sisters. In my interview with Pam, she said “there were nights when I would be the only one in the building working by myself and I would hear door shut, I would hear footsteps. You kind of get up and you go looking to see if somebody came in or went out and you realized you're still the only one there.”[i] Pam isn’t the only employee who noticed these strange occurrences in her time at Horky house, in fact all of the staff would joke about it and say things like “Oh, it’s just The Sisters.”[ii] On one particular night, Pam was working late on a mailing and was the last one in the office. Her office was upstairs, and she had left her purse and computer upstairs with the light on and the door open while she was in the lobby finishing up her work. While mindlessly labeling some publications, she thought she heard someone upstairs. Knowing she was the only one in the building, she became suspicious and went upstairs to see where the noise had come from. Once she got to the top of the stairs, she saw that her office light had been turned off and the door was closed. She then said “Well, if they were maybe harmful spirits, maybe something would have happened to me by now?”[iii] So, she just brushed off the event like the rest of the staff and went on about her business.
An intriguing aspect about the story of the Floyd sisters, is that they were both single women living alone in rural Kentucky in the mid-twentieth century. At this time, women were still seen as individuals whose main goal in life should be to find a husband, raise and family and manage the home. Contrary to this gender stereotype perpetuated at the time, these women were single, independent, and completely content with their lives together as educators and sisters. One possible influence on their independence and drive to be educated women who contribute to the academic lives of their community is their father Dewitt, also known as the beloved Dr. Floyd. His ambition and reputation amongst the Danville and Boyle county community very well could have inspired his oldest daughters to pursue lives of service in their own capacity. I think this type of independence really became popular in the mid-late 1980s which was closer to the end of the Floyd sisters’ lives. Some may have seen this act as one of defiance of the social norm of their generation, but I think this was a true trailblazing moment for women in rural Kentucky. Often, we hear about the major women’s rights movements in history, which are absolutely crucial, but it’s small acts such as these two sisters independently living their lives as they see fit who are the role models for young women in everyday life.
The history of places can haunt us, and that is not always a bad experience. Often, we can learn from the experiences of those who lived before us in order to better our own futures and I believe that is Centre’s culture. We all seek the advice of those older than us who have shared our experiences and sometimes we gain the advice and aid of others who are connected to the same places and experiences we are without even looking for it. When we inhabit the spaces that once meant so much to individuals who are now deceased, I think our lives are in some part tied to theirs through this shared place and the experiences had in that space. In the case of The Sisters, I think the memories they had in their home are almost being played out in real time as new memories are being made. This is not a typical scary ghost story where a specter will do malevolent things to try to harm you or even send you a warning about something you may be going through. I think these ladies are simply reliving their lives in a place they cherished for as long as they can, unknowingly impacting generations after them. Perhaps this is why the Floyd sisters are not feared by those who have and continue to work in the Horky House. It is almost comforting and inspiring to be connected to souls of the past who led such joyful and positive lives.
Centre as an institution prides itself on “the Centre experience,” but what is that really? I think the Centre experience is different for every person of every generation and will continue to be as long as this is a place of higher learning. The experiences of students, faculty and staff build upon themselves and each other, the good and the bad, to help shape each member of the colonel family. The independence of The Sisters and their desire to lead a meaningful life is precisely the mindset Centre prides itself on fostering. This independence and ambition are at the core of the Centre experience. The story of the Floyd sisters us so striking and truly stays with us because women at Centre are empowered to seek out ways of being independent and are encouraged to better themselves just as The Sisters did.
Another interesting aspect to the story of the Floyd sisters and how they are connected to Centre as not only an institution, but a haunted institution is the idea of absorbing property, people, and ideas into the Centre community. Along with other properties such as JVAC and the Stuart House, Horky House was neither an original building of Centre’s campus nor was its original purpose to be a building of the college, this building was a home. Centre tends to not recognize its history as being so intertwined with the history of Danville, but these ghost stories truly expose the bridge that has been built between the two communities throughout their mutual lifespans. I find it interesting how the majority of places that are supposedly haunted on Centre’s campus tend to be places that were once homes or may be considered homes now. These places have their own stories and histories buried in their foundation. Be it Ruby Cheek and Breckinridge hall which are now residence halls or Sutcliffe hall where athletes find their home away from home, the idea of family and community at Centre has been at the forefront of every experience on campus. Place and memory are both key aspects to life and history and I think homes are where those two things collide. At one point, Horky house was the home of the Floyd sisters. They slept, ate, laughed, cried, and made countless memories together as a family in their home. As Pam says in her interview, “not just people, but places have history, you know, buildings kind of have their own story to tell,”[iv] this could not be truer of every space on Centre’s campus that connects us to the greater Danville community.
-Ella Aponte
Endnotes
[i] Aponte, Ella. Oral History Interview. Personal, January 15, 2021.
[ii] Aponte, Ella. Oral History Interview. Personal, January 15, 2021.
[iii] Aponte, Ella. Oral History Interview. Personal, January 15, 2021.
[iv] Aponte, Ella. Oral History Interview. Personal, January 15, 2021.
Sources
“Ancestry.com.” Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.ancestry.com/.
Bright, Sallie. “The Past Comes Back at Centre.” The Kentucky Advocate, February 17, 1991.
“Deaths.” The Advocate-Messenger. January 30, 1984.
“Deaths.” The Advocate-Messenger. September 9, 1991.
“Dr. Floyd Buys Kenney Place.” The Advocate-Messenger. December 11, 1930.
“Horky House.” CentreCyclopedia - Horky House. Grace Doherty Library at Centre College. Accessed January 22, 2021. https://sc.centre.edu/ency/h/horky.html.
“Tribute Paid to Dr. Floyd.” The Advocate Messenger. August 10, 1941.