by Steve Wiser, FAIA, local historian, author, and architect.
What is the origin of the Blankenbaker name, and why are there two major streets here with similar names? Both locals and out-of-towners are constantly confused by roads that have the same reference spelling, especially a unique name like Blankenbaker.
To unravel how these two Blankenbaker streets originated, one needs to go back in time to see who owned the land where these roads are now located.
As an example, Cannons Lane is named for Thomas Cannon, who once owned a farm in the vicinity of Lexington Road and Cannons Lane. Hubbards Lane was due to Thomas Hubbard, who owned a house to the north of Westport Road, at the northeast corner of what is now Hubbards Lane and Rudy Lane. Obviously, Shelbyville Road and Brownsboro Road are destination names leading to those respective communities.
The best place to start looking for where a street name might have originated from is to check out the 1858 Bergmann map of Jefferson County. This map is a wonderful resource for finding out who lived where in 1858. Many of the property owners on this map have street names based on their locations, like the aforementioned Cannon and Hubbard.
This map is easy to find by clicking on the Library of Congress website and searching “1858 Map Jefferson County Kentucky.”
For local history researchers, this 1858 Bergmann map is the “Rosetta Stone” that unlocks a lot of valuable data about Jefferson County. In an age before modern surveying and computers, it is remarkable that Bergmann was able to identify and locate all of the hundreds of properties, roads, railroads and more, in a very logical and detailed manner. There are subsequent property maps like the 1873, 1884 and 1913 maps, but this 1858 map is the best, especially since it captures a snapshot of the county prior to a major transformation in urban development.
In looking at the 1858 map in the vicinity of where today’s Blankenbaker Lane is located, the name “A. Blankenbaker” appears on the shore of the Ohio River, just north of “Locust Grove.” Dragging the map to the Jeffersontown area, there are several “Blankenbaker” properties indicated, such as “Jno. Blankenbaker,” “L. Blankenbaker,” “Mrs. Blankenbaker,” “Jerry Blankenbaker” and “Jac. Blankenbaker.”
Who are all these Jeffersontown Blankenbakers, and are they related somehow to the A. Blankenbaker who lived across the county near Locust Grove and the Ohio River? Fortunately, a descendant of the Blankenbaker family has done the genealogy research, and yes, A. Blankenbaker, whose full name is Abraham Blankenbaker, is related to all of these Blankenbakers of Jeffersontown.
It appears that many of the Blankenbakers in the Louisville area are descended from Jacob Blankenbaker, who was born in Madison County, Virginia, on January 18, 1725, and died on January 2, 1801, in Jefferson County, Kentucky. His wife was Mary, who was from Culpeper County, Virginia. They had at least seven children, and their children had multiple descendants.
One of Jacob and Mary’s children, Nicholas (1758-1849), was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, and died in Shelby County, Kentucky. Nicholas had a son named Abraham Blankenbaker, who was born in Shelby County on July 21, 1795 and died around 1867 in Jefferson County. The Jeffersontown Blankenbakers are also descendants from Jacob Blankenbaker.
Historian Sam Thomas, on page 109 of his book “George Rogers Clark and Locust Grove,” notes that Abraham Blankenbaker and his grocery business partner, Jesse Christler, purchased 300 acres in 1847 from St. George and Cornelia Croghan, who were descendants of William and Lucy Croghan, who built Locust Grove. Both Abraham and Jesse’s names are listed on the 1858 map as adjoining properties, and who evidently split the 300-acre tract they bought from the Croghans. But it is Abraham whose name we now remember, due to the street being named Blankenbaker.
So, how did these two streets get the names of these specific property owners and not any of the other property owners like the Croghans of Locust Grove? Per a Courier-Journal article on street naming, if an easement right of way for a street had to traverse a private property, then the property owner would likely have the right to name the street. With all the various Blankenbaker properties in the Jeffersontown area, these naming rights would seem appropriate for Blankenbaker Parkway. Blankenbaker Lane was a natural reference since it led to the terminus at Abraham Blankenbaker’s property along the Ohio River.
Besides these two prominent Blankenbaker streets, there are at least two historic houses that were occupied by Blankenbaker families. Jeffersontown, at 10317 Watterson Trail, is home to the Dr. Luther A. Blankenbaker house, built in 1881. Luther was the grandson of Samuel Blankenbaker (1821-1900), who was a descendant of Jacob. This house remained in the Blankenbaker family until 1982 and is now occupied for commercial use. There is also a former Blankenbaker house at 4306 River Road, near intersection with Blankenbaker Lane.
