Daviess County, KY Listed: 03/28/1986 Part of the Owensboro MRA The Clements House is the finest examples of Queen Anne domestic architecture in Owensboro. The house, called Highlands by its builder, Sylvester Monarch, is appropriately named because of its commanding position on a hill overlooking the Ohio River. The house and yard cover an entire block. Much of the original view of the river has been cut off by modern housing and industrial development. The Monarch family came from France and settled first in Maryland before coming to Owensboro in the 1830's. They brought their possessions in ox-carts and settled on the Hardinsburg Rd. east of Owensboro. The six Monarch sons all followed in the footsteps of their ancestors and became distillers. Little community progress was made that was not affected by one of them. In the height of their financial success the brothers all built grand homes, several of them on Distiller's Row - East 4th St. - between Wing and Highland. The finest was Richard Monarch's home which was razed for the construction of Daviess Co. Middle School. Martin V. Monarch's home is best known because it was used by an order of nuns who took an oath of silence until being razed in 1970. The Moanrch-Payne and Le Vega Clements Houses still remain. The LeVega Clements house was built between 1894 and 1897 by Sylvester Monarch, who owned Eagle Distillery and a large stock-yard. After prohibition the house was sold to Le Vega Clements, attorney and founder of the Kentucky Buggy Co. and mayor of Owensboro. His family lived in it until the last heir died in 1985.
Settles Rd area
