#37 – Dedman House

Dedman House

Built in 1884 by Charles Mortimer and Mary (Mollie) Curry Dedman. Charles owned and operated the Dedman Drugstore on Main Street in Harrodsburg and the Dedman Distillery in  the Oregon community of Mercer County alongside the Kentucky River.

Family legend states that the distillery was a wedding gift to Charles and Mollie from Charles’ uncle, Judge William H McBrayer, as a joke because Mary's family, the Curry family,  were all teetotalers. 

Charles was raised by his uncle, Judge McBrayer, when Charles' father died, leaving Charles' mother, Mary, widowed. Mary was Judge McBrayer’s sister and she had three additional sons from her first marriage to Robert Winston Sea.  

Judge McBrayer was a highly respected farmer in Anderson County, and was elected as that county’s State Representative in 1829. He also founded the Cedar Brook Distillery in Anderson County.  

Charles and Mollie had four children: Bessie Glen, Mary Wallace, Thomas Curry, and Willie Nell. 

None of the girls married and they lived in the Dedman House most of their lives. 

Thomas “Curry” Dedman married Pauline Goddard and they had three children: Charles Mortimer Dedman, Anne Dedman Cherry and Thomas Curry Dedman, Jr. 

Curry Dedman continued to operate the Dedman Drugstore and the Dedman Distillery (which produced “Kentucky Owl Bourbon, the Wise Man’s Choice”) as he entered adulthood. 

Unfortunately, Prohibition closed the distillery and demanded all the inventory be sent to Frankfort. There, the warehouse that stored the bourbon burned. The Dedmans were never compensated for their loss.  

In 2014 CM Dedman’s great, great grandson, Samuel Dixon Dedman, revived the brand. The brand has since been sold to Stoli. Dixon and partners have developed a new brand, 2XO.  

Pauline Goddard Dedman, the second generation of the Goddard family to operate and own Beaumont Inn, continued the traditions of the Inn with her sons, Charles and TC “Bud” until her death. The Dedman family still operates the Inn today.  

The Dedman House is a Queen Anne style Victorian house, notable for the pargeting gable decoration. However, this detail has been covered recently.

Mrs. Dedman chose the lot, plans and oversaw construction.

The Dedman house is the long-time residence of the Ruby family.