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Dr. Waller Overton Bullock was born in Frankfort, Kentucky on November 28, 1875. He attended Transylvania University and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1896. After graduation he served as assistant demonstrator of anatomy for tow terms at the University of Virginia and interned in the Polyclinic Hospital in Philadelphia. He located in Lexington in 1899, where he practiced until 1946. During World War I he served as a major in the Army medical corps known as the Barrow Unit and later helped found the Lexington Clinic with Dr. David Barrow and his son Dr. Woolfolk Barrow. Dr. Bullock's hobbies included fishing and sculpting. Many of his sculptures remain in the Bodley-Bullock House, and his photo collection is in Transylvania University's library.

Minnie Barbee Pettit was born in 1877 and grew up on a farm outside Lexington (the farmhouse location is now 1516 Lakewood Drive). She was the daughter of Benjamin F. and Clara Barbee Pettit. While traveling in the Kentucky Mountains with her sister Kate she broke her leg; Dr. Waller O. Bullock, who she later married in 1907, set the leg. Mrs. Bullock established the Garden Club of Lexington. Mrs. Bullock was also involved with the renovation of the Ephraim McDowell House located in Danville, Kentucky through her work with the Woman's Auxiliary of the Kentucky Medical Association.

Katherine Rebecca Pettit, born in 1896 was Minnie Pettit Bullock's sister. When she visited the Bullock's, she lived in the garden apartment where she died of cancer in 1936. She played a significant role in brining education to Appalachia. Along with May Stone of Louisville, Kate Pettit established the Hindman Settlement School in Knott County under the auspices of the State Federation of Women's Clubs an the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County. Among many of her interests were collecting quilts (many are displayed in the Bodley-Bullock House), and the folk tales and ballads of the region. Her diaries tell much about Appalachia at the beginning of the 20th century.

Bodley-Bullock House Historical note: This collection contains several pictures of the historical significant Bodley-Bullock House. A home rich in history with many owners and major architectural changes, the Bodley-Bullock House exemplifies the grandeur of Lexington's Gratz Park. This Kentucky Federal Style house was built c. 1814 for Mayor Thomas Pindell who sold it shortly thereafter to General Thomas Bodley, a prominent Lexingtonian and war hero in the War of 1812. The house had seven owners from 1814 to 1970.

After the Civil War, the house was deeded to William A. Dudley. Dudley lived here with his father, Dr. Benjamin W. Dudley, until their death in 1870. Dr. Dudley was an eminent surgeon in the Lexington area. He headed two departments of Transylvania's famed, but now defunct Medical School. Dudley family heirs sold the house to Dr. Waller Bullock and his wife, Minnie in 1912. Both of the Bullocks were avid naturalists and bird watchers. Dr. Bullock was an accomplished sculptor, as well as a founder of The Lexington Clinic. Minnie was founder of the Garden Club of Lexington. The Bodley-Bullock House was willed to Transylvania University and is now leased to the Junior League of Lexington. As a contribution to Lexington's historic preservation, the Junior League renovated the Bodley-Bullock House in 1984. The Junior League of Lexington is committed to preservation through the renovation and ongoing maintenance of the Bodley-Bullock House.

Ephraim McDowell House Historical Note: This collection contains several pictures of prior to and after renovations made by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Also included are photographs of the house in it completion in the 1950s. Ephraim McDowell made medical history on Christmas morning 1809. From the early frontier town of Danville, he became world-renowned as the "Father of Abdominal Surgery." Without the benefit of anesthetic and antisepsis, he performed the first successful removal of an ovarian tumor. Jane Todd Crawford, a pioneer woman, was his patient. Today, the accurately restored McDowell house, apothecary shop, and gardens stand on their original site. The house and shop contain furnishings of the period, some of which are family connected. A guided tour of the house and grounds will inform visitors of Dr. McDowell's accomplishments and remind them of another era when America was new.