This is us…
Lexington Hearth is our brand of non-combustible mantels proudly made in Lexington, Kentucky and sold all throughout North America.
In 2022 we launched our Bluegrass Collection of mantels making them available for purchase through independent hearth dealers. This collection of mantels was inspired by old-growth timbers and beams salvaged from historic barns, farms, homes, and cabins across the Bluegrass region.
Our high-definition Burncrete is a patented non-combustible casting formulation, that authentically replicates the rich wood grain and character details of antique wood. Each Lexington Hearth mantel is meticulously hand-painted, by talented coloring artists, to capture the natural weathered character and color nuances acquired with long-term exposure to the elements over the years. The end result is the realistic look of an antique mantel suitable for fireplace designs requiring non-combustible materials.
Where we find inspiration…
The Rickhouse Mantel
The scents of bourbon, oak, and vanilla greet you when you walk into a Rickhouse. These massive aging warehouses can store up to 20,000 barrels, containing about 1 million gallons of bourbon. Workers use a hand-operated “ricker” elevator to transfer the barrels onto storage racks called “ricks”, the namesake of a “Rickhouse”.
During the aging process, some whisky escapes the barrel through evaporation and they call that loss “The Angels’ Share”. Over the years, Angels have shared their bounty with the Rickhouse timbers. And we like to think that the Angels’ Share is preserved in our Rickhouse mantel.
The Tobacco Barn Mantel
At one time, Kentucky was the largest producer of burley tobacco in the country. Today, many of the tobacco barns have been repurposed for other crops or torn down. Our Tobacco Barn mantel is fashioned from timbers that could have been recovered from an old Kentucky barn. The Tobacco Barn mantel is molded directly from an 8” x 8” barn timber to authentically reproduce the beautiful seasoning imparted to the wood over time. Features include hand-hewn tool marks, deep checking, knots, insect damage, and growth rings visible on the ends. Tobacco was “King” in Kentucky and many small farmers grew it to pay for Christmas gifts, school tuition, and other “extras” for the family. An acre of tobacco could generate $4,000, but it required a lot of manual labor to grow, cut, and hang in the barns to dry. Small farmers enlisted the help of their children, extended family, and friends to bring in the harvest during the hottest months of the year. It was a miserably hot, dirty, and sometimes dangerous chore, but it only had to be done once a year.
Today, the small family tobacco farmer is almost extinct. Large factory farms, and contract growers, have largely taken over what remains of the business. Our Tobacco Barn mantel personifies the strength and perseverance of the family tobacco farmer. Hand-hewn and sturdy.
The Cabin Pine Mantel
The first settlers in Kentucky built temporary cabins to shelter themselves from the wilderness. These early cabins were very primitive and never intended to be their final home. After a permanent home was built, they would use the cabin for housing animals and storage. Some were torn down and the lumber was used for barns, corn cribs, and fencing. Nothing ever went to waste in the wilderness.
We wanted to honor the early settlers with a mantel that reminds us of their determination to tame the wilderness and use the resources around them to establish their roots. Our Cabin Pine mantel, with a unique transition from square to round edge, depicts the frugal necessity of using all of the available resources, even if they aren’t perfect. Today, we think these imperfections make for a “perfect” mantel.
The Grist Mill Mantel
Along the banks of many Kentucky rivers and streams, you’ll find the ruins of an old grist mill. Farmers and homesteaders relied on the grist mill for flour and cornmeal. Some grist mills also installed saws to process lumber from nearby forests. We don’t know where this beam came from, but our Grist Mill mantel harkens back to an era when industrialization first came to the frontier.
Grist mills and sawmills brought industrialization to the frontier to serve the ever-growing influx of people moving to Kentucky. Using waterwheel power, some grist mills could process 5000 pounds of wheat and another 3000 pounds of corn per day. The abundance of corn grown in Kentucky is why fifty percent of Kentucky whiskey’s grain bill is made from corn. This unique “corn” whiskey came to be known as Bourbon.
We had to include a Grist Mill mantel in our Bluegrass Collection to honor the historical connection to our beloved bourbon, farming, and pioneering spirit.
The Half- Round Sleeper Mantel
Sleeper beams are part of the support structure of old buildings and are usually hidden from view in walls and under floorboards. Because they were hidden, the craftsmen didn’t bother to remove the bark from the logs. To save time, only the tops and bottoms were hand-hewn leaving the live edge in its natural state. Years later, the rustic charm of these beams has been revealed and a bright spotlight now shines on their hidden beauty.
In many old barns and houses, you’ll find distinctive live-edge sleeper beams forming the foundation of the structure supporting the floorboards. Hand-hewn sleepers are typically made from the heart of a tree where the growth rings are the tightest.
A full-round sleeper is round on two sides and flat on the top and bottom. To make a half-round sleeper the full-round beam is split lengthwise to create two halves with a smaller cross-section.
The Hayloft Beam Mantel
Kentucky is known as the World’s Horse Capital and the Thoroughbred industry goes through a lot of feed hay. Traditionally, hay is stored in the hayloft above the stables and workers drop the hay into the feed basket using a chute system. Our Hayloft Mantel pays tribute to the simple, but important function of the hayloft in our equestrian traditions.
Horses need to eat about 15-20 pounds of hay, per day, to stay healthy and well fed. That’s a “lot of hay”; about 3 tons per year. The hayloft is the ideal storage solution to keep the hay close to your horses and out of the weather.
That’s why most of the stables in Kentucky have a hayloft and why we chose to recognize this innovation in our Bluegrass Collection of mantels.
The Rockface Limestone Mantel
Geologically speaking, Kentucky’s land is shaped by limestone. Limestone releases calcium into our soil and water which helps horses develop stronger bones and bourbon to age gracefully. Horse breeders and bourbon distilleries make Kentucky their home and our Limestone mantel reminds us why this is such a special place.
At one time, much of North America and Kentucky was covered by water. Millions of sea creatures lived and died during that era, forming a calcium-rich layer of limestone under a landscape of rolling hills and palisades. Over time, acidic water filtered through the limestone, releasing minerals into our soil. The Maury and McAfee silt soils commonly found in Central Kentucky are especially rich in phosphorus and calcium.
Bourbon and Thoroughbred industries in Kentucky benefit from limestone’s percolation and filtering effects. Horses develop stronger bones from increased calcium uptake while grazing in pastures. Bourbon distilleries source water from nearby streams or rivers and the dissolved limestone in the water reduces acidity which helps our bourbon age gracefully. Everyone else can enjoy the beauty of our rolling hills and stunning river palisades.
The Hitching Post Mantel
Before there were endless striped asphalt parking lots and multi-story parking garages, commuters hitched their “ride” to a simple post or rail when they came into town. Homes and businesses across Kentucky had either a hitching post or a hitching rail to tie off your horse to keep it from wandering. Our Hitching Rail mantel pays homage to a simpler time when horse power came with a saddle.
Hitching posts gained popularity in the early 1800’s and remained a roadside feature into the early 1900’s. At the height of their popularity, they were made in all shapes and sizes and became a decorative status symbol for the elites. Made from stone, iron, wood or steel, the basic need was to have a rail or ring to tie a simple clove-hitch or rolling-hitch knot to keep your horse in place. In Kentucky a lot of communities have horse-themed cast iron posts or simple stone obelisks with a cast iron ring. You’ll still find them in use on Kentucky farms, but unfortunately many were lost to the metal drives during WWI and WWII. Our Hitching Post mantel reminded us of the clean lines of the post and rail style hitching post which is how it got its name in our Bluegrass Collection.
The Flat Sawn Beam Mantel
Horse farms in Kentucky have a distinctive look with 3 & 4 rail fencing defining their paddocks. Typically, horse fencing is made with oak post and rails, but we like the beautiful rough-sawn grain of western red cedar. The Flat Sawn Beam mantel has a similar appearance to a fence rail, and the beam refinements provide a contemporary aesthetic for a nice alternative to our rustic mantels.
Some farms use double fencing as a safety practice. The extra fence row along a road protects the horses from vehicle accidents and any garbage that might be thrown from cars. It also allows groups of horses to see each other without the danger of them fighting with each other. With double fencing, horses are less likely to get past two barriers if they attempt to escape from the paddock.
Our rolling hills and paddocks make for a great training ground for foals and yearlings. All in all, this is a great place to be a horse—and our earliest settlers knew it.
