The Erlanger Public Works department and City Beautification Task Force unveiled the new gardens at the former site of the 7 Mile House on Dixie Highway at a ribbon cutting last week. The project has been in the works for about two years, said Erlanger Public Works Director Kevin Quinn.
“It’s something to drive by and take a lot of pride in, so I hope you do,” said Quinn after thanking the city council and the workers in the public works department, who performed all of the construction and landscaping for the gardens.
The garden is at the former location of the 7 Mile House on Dixie Highway. The site is a counterpart to the highway’s 3 and 5 mile landmarks — Greyhound Tavern in Fort Mitchell and Barleycorn’s in Lakeside Park, respectively. Before the work, the area was little more than a concrete wall overrun with weeds and other vegetation.
The 7 Mile House, which took its name from its proximity to the seven-mile marker on Dixie Highway, was initially founded in 1890.
The original owner was a German immigrant family named Duraine, said Eric Rolf, who presented on the property’s history at the ribbon cutting.
The Duraines wanted to use the house as a community center, but other than that, there wasn’t much available information about the family or the building from around that time, Rolf said.
The house changed hands several times over the next 80 years or so before finally landing in the possession of John Stephenson, former congressional aide and Kentucky superintendent of public instruction, in 1976. Stephenson was a political activist at the time. He was recently embroiled in a scandal wherein he allegedly stole $60,000 from Vietnam veteran and Boone County resident Darris Beach. Stephenson recently took a plea deal from the Boone County Circuit Court.
Stephenson used the property as a political headquarters and ran a hat and pipe shop out of it. Then dubbed the Elbo Room Lounge, the building caught fire and burned down in 1978. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the cause of the fire is still unknown.
Developments of various kinds sprang up on and around the land afterward. Currently, the closest business is Bonded Lock & Security, which provides door security for both individual consumers and businesses.
The garden sports brand-new sod, new fences, a variety of tree and flower species and stone arrangements along the hill.
A mural painted by artist Kara Harper spans the length of an adjacent brick wall along Dixie Highway. The mural displays lyrics from the song “Old Kentucky Home” as well as a variation of an old Greek proverb: “Society grows when old men and women plant trees in whose shade they may never sit.”
In addition to Rolf’s presentation, Diana Niceley, Erlanger council member and member of the beautification task force, addressed the audience and thanked the public works employees and civic leaders who contributed to the project.
“We had an awesome public works department, and this would not be possible,” Niceley said. “We could sit in a task force and talk about things, but they’re the ones that make it become a reality.”
Two students from Lloyd Memorial High School’s chorus program, Praise and Delight Treanor, also commemorated the event with a rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home.”
Quinn said that the garden may serve as the site for the city’s Christmas tree in the future. In any case, the new gardens are free and open to the public, and members of the public are free to attend meetings of the city’s beautification task force to learn more about different beautification projects throughout Erlanger. The next task force meeting will take place on Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. at the Public Works Building on Jack Scheben Drive.
