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. There, in the mountains of the Laurel Highlands, they planned to build a retreat from the city.

The Hagans became friends with the Kaufman family that owned nearby Fallingwater. After the Hagans visited Fallingwater several times, they fell in love with Wright’s architecture and decided they wanted a Frank Lloyd Wright house of their own.

After initially contacting Wright, the Hagans visited Mr. Wright several times 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.

"I.N. and I put so much into that house, our hearts and souls, and this will always be there. It cannot be removed, supplanted, or ignored by subsequent owners or by being opened to the public. The house and its grounds exist because we had a dream. The house was built to fit us- it is who we are." - Bernardine Hagan

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