I.N. and Bernardine Hagan were the third-generation owners of the Hagan Ice Cream Company, based in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. In the early 1950s, the Hagans acquired 80 acres of land in the tiny town of Chalk Hill. High up in the Laurel Highlands, they planned to build a retreat from the city.
The Hagans were friends with the Kaufmans, owners of nearby Fallingwater. Visits to Fallingwater prompted the Hagans to fall in love with Wright’s architecture. They decided they wanted a Frank Lloyd Wright house of their own.
Commissioning Wright was a two-way interview. After the Hagans travelled back and forth to Wright during the year-long design process. The construction of Kentuck Knob started in 1954 and was completed in the summer of 1956; the Hagans moved in on their 26th wedding anniversary. Kentuck Knob became the Hagans full-time residence for almost thirty years. After Mr. Hagan became ill, the couple returned to Uniontown in the mid-1980s.
"The house and its grounds exist because we had a dream... Did we keep within our budget? No." - Bernardine Hagan