The 2001 auction was anything but normal. Hundreds of people came out as the large Cemetery Road home was being sold — most were not interested in bidding, they simply wanted to be at the scene of the crime — literally.

Now, one of Bowling Green’s most famous private homes, known by many as Murder Mansion for an infamous 1948 double murder, is again going on the auction block.

Built in 1856 by merchant James Finis Ewing, the large Colonial style home’s second owners were Dr. Charles B. Martin and his wife Martha. The Martins purchased the mansion in 1918 and added the Greek columns to the front of the home.

It was what happened to the Martins in 1948 that gave the home its unique place in southcentral Kentucky history. A troubled Western student, Harry Edward Kilgore, broke into the home on a warm June night and killed the Martins. His apparent motive was jealousy after the Martins’ son, Stoney, married Ruth McKinney — a girl Kilgore had briefly dated that summer.

Along with the murder itself, subsequent trials of an alleged accomplice made front-page news around the country. 

The home eventually went through two owners before Norm and Jimmie Lou Johnson purchased it in the 2001 auction. 

Now, Norm Johnson said, it’s time to move on.

“We have talked about downsizing for a long time,” he said. The couple purchased a smaller, but still historic house, nearby recently. “We are simplifying our life.”

The home was the focal point of 2020’s “The Cemetery Road Murders” book and draws sellout crowds each fall as part of an Unseen Bowling Green walking tour based on the book.

But the home is unique for more than its link to the murders.

Nestled amid much smaller homes on Fairview Avenue (also called Cemetery Road), the home has more than 5,000 square feet of living space, seven fireplaces, a heated pool, two detached garages and sits on almost two acres.

“It is one of the benchmark homes of Bowling Green,” said auctioneer Joe B. Houchens II. “Everyone knows the story.”

Norm Johnson said it’s time that the home’s story has a new host.

“We are temporary — we are just caretakers. It’s been around some 175 years and will be around for many more,” he said.

He added that the couple has always had a sense of pride of ownership after remodeling the home and sharing it with the community.

“We will miss it,” he said. “It’s got a good spirit to it.”

—The auction is slated for 5 p.m. Oct. 26.