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John Allen Burton was born on April 3, 1801in Mercer County and was educated in the local schools. He was a merchant and farmer in Perryville for forty years and retired in 1860. His father was Robert Burton of Virginia, who moved to Kentucky and married Margaret Ferguson, who was born in a fort at Harrodsburg. His wife was Louisiana Chandler Burton who was born in Washington County in 1810. Her grandfather was Richard Chandler, who was a native of Maryland and moved to Kentucky when he was a young man and settled in Washington County, where he was a farmer and blacksmith. He married Elizabeth McNeal of Fayette County and died in 1855.
In 1842, John built a Greek revival home, with eight rooms, for his wife Louisiana and his five children. He promised his wife that the home would be fire proof, so he built the home of brick. On the property, he built a smokehouse, stable, and icehouse. John Burton owned the Burton General Store across the river from their home. The plank footbridge led from the front yard of their home to the street in front of the stores on Merchants Row.
After the battle of Perryville, the house was used a field hospital. Straw covered the poplar floors in order to absorb the blood and provide bedding for the wounded soldiers. The dining room and library were converted to operating rooms, where doctors performed the gruesome task of amputating arms and legs, which were piled in the yard as high was the first floor windows. Shortly after the battle, John Burton sold his store on Merchant’s Row to William Houston Parks.
John Burton’s son, Robert Allen Burton was born in Boyle, then Mercer County, Kentucky on June 11. 1834. He graduated from the Perryville Seminary in 1856, and was a farmer while studying law. In 1858, he was admitted to the bar. He moved to Marion County and continued farming until he was elected to the Kentucky Legislature in 1859. In 1862, he was elected county judge and was reelected twice. In 1869, he became state Senator and served for four years. He was elected division deputy collector of the internal revenue during President Cleveland’s first administration. In 1894, he was elected county judge and in 1894, he was again elected county judge for three years. In 1888, he was elected president of the Farmers National Bank in Lebanon. On May 17, 1860, he was married to Margaret Lowry, daughter of James Lowry of Jessamine County. She was born on June 11, 1837, and was educated at St. Catherine College and in Lexington.
John Burton died on May 6, 1874 and was buried in the Perryville Cemetery. He was seventy two years old. As for Burton’s home, in 1897, he sold the home her to Sarah Griffing and sister Blanche. Sarah and her brother, Professor Thomas Poynter, had been teaching at the Ewing Institute, a well-known girls boarding school, which was located in town. Sarah and her brother decided to open their own school and named the new school Elmwood Academy, which served as a prestigious boarding school until 1924. Sarah died in 1909 and Thomas died in 1924. Blanche was not able to keep the school going and turned the academy into a boarding housed, renting rooms to local families. Blanche died in 1956. In 1974, Elmwood was placed on the National Register of Historic sites and designated a Kentucky Landmark. The name was changed to Elmwood Inn and was known for their fine regional cooking. In 1989, the restaurant closed and in 1990, Bruce and Shelly Richardson turned the home into a tea room. In 1995, the Richardson’s changed the home to dining and retail space. In 1995, the Richardson’s launched their own tea company. In 2004 Elmwood Teas closed. The home was now a private residence. i.
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