Hershel House, 1941-2024, an Icon has Passed
Due to several unconfirmed reports of Hershel’s death over the years, we are including his official obituary.
Hershel House Obituary
Hershel Carmen House passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 at the Ohio County Hospital in Hartford, Ky. surrounded by family and friends. He was born July 4, 1941 to the late Euda and Coweta House in the bustling river community of Woodbury, Ky. At an early age, it was found that Hershel was not content with the ways of the quickly modernizing world; rather, he had an affection for the old and primitive ways of which this great Commonwealth was built. He would spend his formative years hunting, fishing, and camping along the banks of the Green River in homemade canoes in rural Butler County, Kentucky. Hershel was preceded in death by his mother, father and sister Vivian. He is survived by one daughter, Jana Rose and her husband David; one granddaughter, Beth Rose; one sister, Vickie House; two brothers, Frank House and his wife Lally and Johnny House; several nieces, nephews and friends.
It was noticed at a very young age that Hershel was a very talented and skilled craftsman. His ability to work in many artistic mediums flourished and would be the stepping-stones, for what would later become his prolific career in the traditional arts. Hershel served his country honorably in the United States Marine Corps, where he was an ace shot on the rifle range and noted for topping his commanding officers. During his time in the military, he spent 16 months in Cuba on guard at Guantánamo Bay. There, he spent plenty of time drawing, scheming and plotting his life back home in Kentucky working with his hands.
After a short stent in Louisville, Kentucky, Hershel headed home to Morgantown, Kentucky where, in 1965 he settled for nothing less than fulfilling a lifelong dream of setting up a shop and building true Kentucky longrifles full-time. In 1968, Hershel was gifted a lifelong love when his daughter, Jana was born. He would go on in the years to follow building a reputation of a fine craftsman, Renaissance man, and painter whose works were commissioned for early TV Pioneers, governors, and heads of state alike. In 1989, he became a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities for his works on various historical projects, including the restoration of David Crockett’s personal rifle.
Through the 2000’s, he never slowed down his craft and neither did his list of request for the hand forged knives and guns. Life was nearly cut short when he was diagnosed with cancer. However, through his determination to carry on, he proudly beat cancer completely in 2009.
In his career, he taught thousands of anxious learners the craft; however, most of his students recall the very special bond they felt working beside him. He was always kind and patient. His art took him all over the country and allowed him to meet and work with people from all walks of life, and that he was proud of. His greatest legacy will always remain his willingness to share his artistic styles and processes now known as the “Woodbury School” with others.
The many who had the privilege of visiting his home and workshops could not help but be captivated by the world he had created to grow his craft. Many described it as walking back in time. Between reviving log cabins, restoring antique cars, building furniture, grinding cornmeal, hunting with his beloved dogs or going to the flea markets, not much grass could grow under Mr. House’s feet.
To quote him; “I’ve had the great satisfaction of living my life exactly the way I’ve always wanted to live.” He will be greatly missed by family, friends and followers the world over. Hershel really cherished the time he was able to spend with his daughter, Jana and his granddaughter, Beth on their many adventures.
Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 4:00pm at Smith Funeral Home with Bro. Raleigh Blancett officiating. Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 26 from 1:00pm until 8:00pm and Saturday, Jan. 27 from 8:00am until 4:00pm at Smith Funeral Home. Colonial period styles of dressing, as a tribute to Hershel, are encouraged by those who wish to do so. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the recently established Hershel House and the Woodbury School Foundation, Inc., which has been established to preserve his legacy and further his love of teaching others. You can make this donation at Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 280, Morgantown, Ky. 42261.
A spring service is planned for April 2024 where his ashes will be interred into the Green River.
Services
Visitation
Friday
January 26, 2024
1:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Smith Funeral Home
403 North Main St
Morgantown, KY 42261
Legends Start Just like Us
Hershel House as seen in the 1960’s
The story goes that in 1956, Hershel found an antique half-stocked percussion squirrel rifle in the neighbor, Mrs. Gibbs's, old barn. Mrs. Gibbs knew the rifle as it was her father’s, but she couldn’t turn down young Hershel’s request and passed the rifle onto him. Hershel fixed it, got it firing, and promptly took to squirrel hunting the green river from his handmade canoe.
In the late 1960s Hershel debuted the first of an incredible new line of work in his iron mounted southern rifle. Many have wondered, did Hershel know what he had done while working in that old smokehouse? Could he feel the forthcoming wave and genre defining artistry that rifle would start, or like many builders, was he nervous, confidence shaken about the quality of his work and how it would be recieved by the local muzzleloading enthusiasts?
My grandfather told a story of the time Hershel brought his first “new” old gun to the NMLRA grounds in Friendship, Indiana. He described the concensous as “Mixed” among those in attendance. “It was a beautiful gun, but why did he have to beat it up?”, “What’s the point in making a new gun look old?” and “He should have stopped a while back” were some of the nicer comments made about the piece according to my grandfather.
Hershel at the NMLRA grounds in the 1970s, photo credit Tim Johnson
But like any icon, Hershel didn’t stop, he couldn’t stop. Hershel continued to push the artistic envelope of contemporary longrifle building, forging a path that was both new and old, connecting people from all walks of life to history, art, and muzzleloading all together.
In 1979 Hershel made his literary debut with a feature in the ever-popular “Foxfire V”. Until that moment, Hershel and his work had been fairly localized to Kentucky and the surrounding area. Even today if you ask a muzzleloading enthusiasts about how they heard about Hershel House, many of them will say with a smile on their face, “FoxFire V”.
Hershel’s work would continue to change and grow. With time afforded by two National Endowment for the Arts Grants in 1984 and 1985, he was able to hone in on the how and why his work worked, setting the stage for his future as a teacher.
Nearly 20 years after his debut rifle, Herhsel’s work had become known and was in high demand. John Bivin's in his January, 1988 Muzzle Blast article, Preserving Gunmaking Tradition, said,
"… In his work, Hershel's attitude clearly follows that of the early gunmaker. Whether at the forge, filing vise or stocking bench he is fast, sure and efficient; he wastes no time fussing about. That is a blend of skill and experience that was very well defined by the adjective "workmanlike" which eighteenth-century patrons used to describe sound products of an artisan's hands."
He continued,
"Original pieces have made a strong impact on Hershel's personal style, but not to the point of duplication. In fact, Hershel's translations more often than not seem more successful than the originals."
In a time of American Bicentennial celebration and mountain man fever, Hershel defined a new era in contemporary longrifle building. Herhsel set the tone, and it’s a tone we will be hearing for decades if not centuries.
By the nature of fine art, everyone sees and feels something different. Combine that notion of art with a muzzleloading longrifle and you add quite a bit of thoughts. Form, function, practicality, finesse - the American longrifle is an artform with everything, no matter how ornate, and Hershel knew it. Without a doubt, Hershel’s work is beautiful, the lines flow, the forms connect, and like any longrifle, it feels right in the hand, but for many it was more than that.
At the time, it was a world of crisp clean contemporary work, Hershel’s art brought a sense of connection to the viewer, the idea that a old rifle isn’t old because it wasn’t cared for, it’s old because it was cared for. Much like Hershel’s own appreciation for history and times gone by, his work introduced the masses to the idea that we should appreciate the stories a rifle could hold and carry them into the future.
Hershel could have been like any other artistic visionary of his time and held his techniques and thoughts on the kentucky rifle a secret, but much like his work set the bar for excellence, he would set the bar for educating as well.
Hershel’s first students were his younger brothers, Frank and John who got their start assisting Hershel in the shop.
“When I was in school, I of course hated school, so I would take any chance I could to skip school and watch Hershel work”
Hershel didn’t just open the shop to his brothers, he began welcoming students to his shop and home as if they were his brothers. Formal classes would be organized over the years with several artists there to assist Hershel where they could, but everyone got some 1:1 time with the living legend. These formal classes would grow and change, for years Hershel would help with the NMLRA/WKU Gunsmithing Seminars, hosting classes at his home and shop as an additional venue for students to learn.
Even in his off time as a teacher to new generations Hershel couldn’t resist helping someone learn. I’ve heard countless stories of someone knocking on Hershel’s door, simply passing through wanting to meet the man being invited in for dinner and then being whisked out into the shop for an unscheduled hands-on class in whatever was troubling the new maker.
I believe it is that spirit, that care and willingness to teach and help that will outlast any of us, and the rifles he built.
Student and friend of Hershel, Ian Pratt said this in a facebook post after Hershel’s passing,
“In keeping with Hershel's wishes, John House, Rick Brown and friends are working together to keep the art of the Woodbury School alive. Some wonderful things are coming! Hershel would be proud.”
For some time Hershel has been working to establish a school so that his passion in teaching may be passed on. The Woodbury School Foundation will do just that. With plans in the works for classes and restoration at the same place Hershel has taught students for decades.
In closing, a story about Hershel;
The governor of KY once asked Hershel to make him a rifle. Hershel asked, "Are you going to shoot it?" the governor said, "Oh, no, it would be an heirloom." And Hershel said, "If you're not going to shoot it, I'm not going to make it."