Joseph
Bryan

October 30, 1797 - August 6, 1887

Rowan County, Kentucky

In 1845, Joseph Bryan inherited his father's homeplace, and built Waveland where the stone house once stood. After possibly consulting with the celebrated Kentucky architect John McMurty, Joseph built his Greek Revival masterpiece, Waveland, for his wife Margaret Cartmell, and their five children.

Waveland exemplifies plantation life in Kentucky in the 19th-century; from the acres of grain and hemp waving in the breeze (hence the Waveland name), to the raising and racing of blooded trotting horses. The outbuildings of Waveland, the slave quarters, smokehouse, and icehouse, are important reminders of the social and economic climate of the time.