Rowan County Voting House – Morehead KY

Description

Construction of stone voting houses was recommended because there were insufficient places for voting with previous solutions producing problems for locations that were over-crowded because of a central location, too small such as in one room schoolhouse, or too far for individuals to travel to vote.  It was felt that this discouraged voting. A total of 17 stone voting houses were proposed along with redistricting to enable citizens to access voting more easily.  Construction on the stone voting houses started in late 1935, concluding in 1936.

Of 17 original stone voting houses, 11 remain, 9 of which are held in private hands or abandoned, 2 were refurbished in 1995 for use in elections at Haldeman and Hogtown.  The buildings have a stone façade are approximately 12 feet x24 feet with a central fireplace (pot-belly stove).  They were placed in the community in a central location, had sufficient parking for voters, and were large enough to enable private voting.