Kentucky’s First Schools of Gunmaking ©
Overview: Kentucky was blessed with early gunmakers, many working there before 1800. They were trained back east, bringing the influences of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania gunmaking to Kentucky. Other states contributed gunsmiths but not to the same level. Kentucky’s first rifles, often referred to as American longrifles, were primarily working rifles without fancy embellishments and rarely signed. Around 1800, perhaps slightly earlier in more populated areas, Kentucky’s first distinctive styles of gunmaking began to evolve, and the state’s first schools of gunmaking were born. To date nine separate schools of gunmaking have been identified in Kentucky, each with unique characteristics separating it from the other schools. Among early Kentucky towns, those with larger, more affluent populations developed artistic rifles earlier. Lexington, Bardstown, and Louisville took the lead in developing distinctive rifle styles that could be defined as schools of gunmaking.
Lexington Rifle: In the central Bluegrass region of Kentucky, Lexington was an early center for firearms development. Both Virginia and North Carolina gunsmiths settled the area and influenced its early rifles. The largest impact came from the Bryan family of North Carolina who first settled Bryan’s Station northeast of Lexington in 1779 and later moved to a property on the south side of Lexington. The first Bryan gunsmith was William Bryan who died from wounds received in an encounter with Native Americans in 1780. His impact on Kentucky gunmaking was limited, but son Daniel Bryan was a major contributor to the final style of the Lexington School rifle. Original rifles by Daniel Bryan are unknown. A fine Kentucky gun with Daniel Bryan’s brass mountings and signed barrel but restocked by Kentucky’s Renick family in the early 1800s is known, and a second restocked rifle with Bryan hardware and a barrel signed “D. Bryan J. Atchison” has also been recorded. Fortunately, Daniel Bryan’s two oldest sons, Lewis and William Bryan, made fine rifles in his style, and several of their guns have survived. Their rifles help define the classic Lexington School rifle with its forward sloped trigger guard with heavy front post, fine triggers with a decorative tab behind the front trigger, slim forestock and triangular butt, iconic cast brass “Lexington style” two-piece patchbox, and traditional engraving that is limited to primarily borders and on the patchbox forms the “Lexington arch” above the lid’s hinge end. A fine Lewis Bryan rifle circa 1812, typical of the Lexington School’s best work, is shown below:
Lexington School Example: Lewis Bryan Rifle, circa 1812.
Bardstown Rifle: Southwest of Lexington at Bardstown in Nelson County, the arrival of young Maryland gunsmith Jacob Rizer in 1806 signaled the birth of the fine Bardstown School of rifle making. With Maryland-born David Weller as his apprentice and then partner between 1815 and 1826, the well-decorated “Rizer & Weller” Bardstown School rifle took form. It surpassed the Lexington rifle in its level of inlay work, engraving, and incise carving and was the rifle of choice for many in central Kentucky. Bardstown rifles had large, fully engraved “Bardstown” patchboxes, well-engraved silver inlays, 8-pointed silver star cheek inlays, and non-standard 6-groove rifling. Side plates and toe plates were also engraved. The popularity of the Bardstown rifle spread into surrounding counties with the help of gunsmiths Matthias Rizer, Benjamin Davenport, William Lutes, Madison Hubbard, Henry Killen and others making rifles in the Bardstown style. A fine “Rizer & Weller” signed rifle, typical of their better work circa 1820, is shown below.
Bardstown School Example: Rizer & Weller Rifle, circa 1820.
Louisville Rifle: From Kentucky’s very first days, Louisville on the Ohio River was an important town. The falls of the Ohio forced river traffic to land and portage around the dangerous rapids/falls on the Kentucky side of the river, thus creating the settlement of Falls of Ohio, later known as Louisville. Pennsylvanian Jonah Eaton is traditionally credited with making the first rifle on Kentucky soil in/near Louisville, but it was Virginian Michael Humble who was Louisville’s earliest recorded gunsmith, working inside the early Fort Nelson. In 1779 Humble was among the first citizens to own a lot in the newly formed, soon-to-be-built, town of Louisville. Michael Humble opened Kentucky’s first recorded civilian gun shop when he moved outside the fort and constructed his shop in 1782. One fine Michael Humble rifle has been documented, and at least two other Michael Humble rifles have been reported recently but not documented. Michael Humble’s work is important in Kentucky gunmaking, in particular for its rare relief carving and very early date, but Humble worked too early in Kentucky to influence the state’s later gunmaking schools. Louisville proved to be a town in constant flux with river traffic bringing new ideas and developments from “back east” to Kentucky. Early Louisville rifles were well-made but plain and rarely signed. The first distinctive Louisville School rifle appeared about 1822 when Kentucky-born Moses Dickson opened a gun shop. He made good quality rifles with the Louisville style patchbox, noted for its limited border engraving, use of small nails for attachment, and most importantly its “stemmed ball with point” finial that became iconic for rifles made along the Ohio River from Louisville and northward. An early Louisville School rifle by Moses Dickson is shown below.
Louisville School Example: Moses Dickson Rifle, circa 1822.
Rifles were being made across Kentucky by the time the three above schools of gunmaking appeared, but in other areas rifle styles had not yet solidified into recognizable forms, or “schools,” of rifle design. Eventually other schools would be recognized, some with outstanding artistic details. But in the beginning, it was Lexington, Bardstown, and Louisville where the first identifiable Kentucky guns were made, and Kentucky’s first schools of gunmaking appeared.
If you are familiar with Kentucky’s early gunmaking schools, what are your thoughts? I’m interested in other experts’ opinions, so please comment!
