Thomas and John Metcalfe were architects of the 1799 courthouse. Known as "Old Stonehammer" Thomas Metcalfe was governor of Kentucky from 1828 to 1832. He served Kentucky in several positions, and retired from the U.S. Senate in 1849 to his farm Forest Retreat, in Nicholas County, where he died of cholera in 1855. He is buried in the family graveyard at Forest Retreat. Courtesy of Hopewell Museum.