The original home of Jason Ritchie was built in 1910 and had no running water.  The home was not a framed house, it was boxed and weather boarding was nailed to the outside planks.  there was no insulation and each room had its own fireplace.  Due to the need for more modern conveniences, such as running water, the Ritchie family decided to build a new home and the old home was torn down in 1961.  If they were to keep the old house, many repairs had to be made, not to mention without insulation, the home was very difficult to heat in the winter.  The original house consisted of four bedrooms, each were 16x16 square feet and sat side-by-side two on either side of a large breeze way.  In later years one of the rooms was converted into a "sewing room" of sorts for Sarah Ritchie and her daughters.  The room included a loom where they wove cloth to make clothes and blankets.  Jason Ritchie was Knott County Attorney in the early 1900s and had his home built by local labor near the mouth of "Big Branch at Ball.  Ritchie and his children, seven daughters and one son, and his wife, Sarah "Sally", lived there for many years. 

Excerpt from an article from
Troublesome Creek Times
Wednesday, June 11, 2003