Susan Dyer bestowed KY Historical Society Award of Distinction for her tireless dedication restoring the Joseph Holt Home

It was 1997 when Susan Dyer, then a middle school social studies teacher, decided a rundown, abandoned 19^th century mansion with significant historical importance on Hwy 144 in Hardinsburg needed some love and attention.

As Dyer stood in front of the mansion, aware of its untold role in American history, decided to reclaim and rehabilitate the property.

“As I stood there and gazed upon this beautiful home, I could feel the sadness of the home, and I knew there was much history surrounding the place,” Dyer told Kentucky Living magazine. “I just felt the history needed to be reclaimed and retold.”

The mansion, built in 1850, was the former home of Joseph Holt, the nation’s first judge advocate general.

Holt served as President James Buchanan’s postmaster general and briefly as Buchanan’s secretary of war. Holt is perhaps best known, though, for serving as President Abraham Lincoln’s judge advocate general of the U.S. Army (JAG), a position Holt held in the Lincoln administration from September 3, 1862, until Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865.

After Lincoln’s death, Holt continued to serve as JAG under Presidents Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant. He also served as chief prosecutor in the trial of eight conspirators involved in Lincoln’s assassination.

Dyer’s determination and commitment to rehab the mansion, and tell its illustrious story, has resulted in a former eyesore becoming a noted historical site and gem in Breckinridge County’s tourism bonnet.

The extensive, ongoing transformation of the property has been celebrated each September for the last 15 years by the Friends of Holt House, which hosts Holt Home Community Day.

Additionally, the mansion is brought to life via tours of the property, and through various events, including a Christmas tour, hosted at the home.

Dyer, not satisfied with leading the herculean effort to refurbish the historical site, wrote a book on the mansion’s restoration: Joseph Holt Mansion: Saving and Restoring the Home of Lincoln’s Judge Advocate General.

She also wrote a book to raise awareness about Holt’s life and undervalued historical significance: Lincoln’s Advocate: The Life of Judge Joseph Holt.

For her over two-decade dedication and tireless efforts restoring the Joseph Holt Mansion, Dyer was recently bestowed the prestigious Award of Distinction by the Kentucky Historical Society.

“I guarantee you it (the restoration of the mansion) would never have happened without Susan pushing it. She has talked to everyone from the White House on down … and has spent countless hours and countless dollars, I’m sure, out of her pocket, to make this come about,” said Tommy Turner, former Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission co-chair.

Dyer’s latest recognition by the Kentucky Historical Society comes on the heels of her and Friends of the Holt Home receiving the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Grassroots Preservation Award in 2023.