Historically, when building construction is described, the fabled cornerstone gets all the attention. Instead, at 316 Estill Street, on the east side of campus, it is the backyard millstone that has captured conversation over many decades. Dr. Wilson Evans ’30 placed it atop a pedestal there all by himself.
Evans served as dean of Labor, alumni secretary, director of Financial Aid and, when at home, dutiful community caretaker. In a handwritten account from 1999, he describes the process of moving a one-ton millstone without assistance. He and his mother-in-law, alumna Sallie Chrisman Best, had discovered it at a ramshackle home in Estill County. They traded the family a new set of porch steps for it.
Wilson had the millstone delivered to Estill Street, where he had arranged a half-dozen small logs to roll the stone across, harkening to the construction of the pyramids. An earthen ramp enabled Wilson to get the ancient grinder to its resting place. When he was done, the family was furnished with a new picnic table.
“It is a good place just to sit underneath the oak tree and look and dream,” he wrote.
Autumn ʼ28, a studio art major, hand-painted this rock as part of the landscaping she designed and helped install at the Best-Evans house. Learn more about Autumn’s story and landscaping design.
Photo by Brooklynn Kenney
Wilson was also a bit of a gardener. The oak he mentioned, though, was planted by nature. He merely staked it and hung a tree swing from it 30 years later for his granddaughter. Nearby grew some lilacs brought in by Colonel Harland Sanders himself.
Wilson had married Ellen Best ’30 in 1931 in a ceremony conducted by Berea College President William J. Hutchins. The lawn of her childhood home hosted some 400 guests for the reception. Her father, Dr. William Gilmore Best (Class of 1902), was the College’s first dentist, and with Sallie’s hospitable nature, they hosted countless students and community members over the decades. Until Danforth Chapel came along in 1937, just about everybody got married there, and Sallie baked their wedding cakes.
Berea College President William Frost sold the land to Dr. Best in 1908 for a dollar and stipulated no house would be built there for less than $1,200. That was a little less than half of Dr. Best’s annual salary for a career dedicated to cheap or free dental care for college students and, most important to him, the handicapped, who, he noted, often refused to smile for photos.
Carl Evans Fdn. ’62 was raised in the house his mother, Ellen, had grown up in as well. As Wilson attended his collegiate duties, Ellen led and volunteered for the Berea College Alumni Association, the Girl Scouts and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Over the years, she stitched a multitude of American flags and Christmas ornaments for the community.
“Our house was very much a gathering place,” Carl recounted. “I got to know the students, and the students got to know me. That was really nice, being a kid and having those connections.”
Wilson and Ellen had always planned to donate this beloved community gathering place to the College one day, but the presence of asbestos prevented it. The house was sold after they moved into assisted living in 1999.
Photo by Crystal Wylie ’05
On a visit to the homeplace in 2022, Carl and his wife, Dr. Ann Evans Hon. ’23, discovered 316 Estill Street was undergoing repairs to prepare for sale. Carl and Ann, along with their daughter Deanna Best Evans, decided to bring the house back into the family and gift the property to the College as their parents had intended.
Asbestos would not be an issue this time. The Evans family funded both the domicile’s demolition and the construction of an 8,000-square-foot duplex that would revive the sense of neighborly affection the location had always been known for.
Construction of the Best-Evans House was completed this year. One unit serves as temporary housing for newly hired faculty and staff as they transition into the community. The other serves as a place for guests who plan to stay longer than Boone Tavern can accommodate. The Evans family predicts all guests who stay in the Best-Evans House will quickly feel its welcoming atmosphere.
We believe we are one family sharing this globe. That’s what Berea says, and that’s what this house represents: welcome, love and belonging.
Ann Evans, Hon. ’23
“We believe we are one family sharing this globe,” Ann said. “That’s what Berea says, and that’s what this house represents: welcome, love and belonging.”
Continuing a spirit of hospitality
Photo by Brooklynn Kenney
Jeff Blair, Berea College project coordinator, oversaw the demolition of the old house and the construction of the new duplex. The job, he estimated, needed to retain the “spirit of hospitality” that had always been there. He began his mission by preserving the millstone, which was stored in a secure location. Blair and his crew built a new pedestal for it and returned it near the original spot.
Also spared was a holly tree planted by Dr. Best. According to Wilson, “a mountain lady” gifted it to his father-in-law as payment for dental services.
Among the most special features of the original building were its stained-glass windows. “Berea made replicas of the stained-glass windows based on a picture I sent them,” Deanna Best Evans explained, “so there’s one of those now on the second floor of each side.”
Otherwise, it was Blair who created the homey environment of the new Best-Evans House. He designed the kitchens and chose the furnishings, such as the swiveling Adirondack chairs gracing the back porch for guests to “look and dream” into the quiet, wooded lot behind the place.
The first honored guests to use the new accommodations were the family of former Berea College President Larry Shinn, in town for his memorial service in June. And so, a new century of hospitality and sacred gatherings commenced, anchored by a millstone picnic table, as always.
