Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Eastern Kentucky Railway
    Eastern Kentucky Railway
    Eastern Kentucky Railway
    Ebook187 pages52 minutes

    Eastern Kentucky Railway

    By Terry L. Baldridge

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    In 1865, as the Civil War was drawing to a close, plans were underway in Boston for a railroad construction project to begin in Greenup County, Kentucky. Eventually the Eastern Kentucky Railway Company would extend its main track through two more counties, Carter and Lawrence. Spanning just 36 miles of main track from Riverton to Webbville, the
    Eastern Kentucky Railway became a lifeline for the economic and social activities of the people of northeastern Kentucky. Even though the original plan of extending the railway much farther south and bridging the Ohio River to the north never came about, the railway struggled along for more than 65
    years. Many people who grew up along the line passed their experiences to younger generations; some, like Jesse Stuart, wrote about them. This volume will show life along the rail line that lent its name to the highways now running its route.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 26, 2007
    ISBN9781439619353
    Eastern Kentucky Railway
    Author

    Terry L. Baldridge

    In 1974, Terry L. Baldridge was introduced to the Eastern Kentucky Railway by his grandfather, Alva Baldridge. This was the beginning of a lifelong love of Eastern Kentucky history, American history, and ancient history for the author.

    Related to Eastern Kentucky Railway

    Related ebooks

    Photography For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      …THE FAMINE OF THE 1690s

      Aug 14, 2021

      The 1690s have conventionally been seen as a peculiarly unhappy time for Scotland. The horrors of the first Jacobite rising (1689-91) and the massacre of Glencoe (1692) are part of this narrative, as is the catastrophe of the Darien disaster (1699-17

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Story Of WITCHES

      Oct 20, 2021

      Many of those dressing up as witches and ghouls for Halloween know little of the real history of witches. We see modern incarnations in culture as harmless, like Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch children’s books, and the trainee witches from the Harry P

      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘Old Brains’ And ‘Granny Lee’

      Mar 9, 2021

      THE RELATIONSHIP between soldiers and their commanders can be indicated by nicknames, which also provide insights into how opponents and civilians on both sides thought about various generals. Nathan Bedford Forrest, lauded by Confederates as the “Wi

      4 min read

    • Article

      Donut Dollies

      May 19, 2021

      Donut Dollies
      5 min read

    • Article

      Key Events

      Apr 21, 2022

      Key Events
      2 min read

    • Article

      Tenta-cool stitches

      May 12, 2022

      Tenta-cool stitches
      1 min read

    • Article

      Cross- Pollination

      Nov 8, 2018

      Cross- Pollination
      6 min read

    • Article

      Following His Nose

      Feb 21, 2023

      Following His Nose
      3 min read

    • Article

      Horror In Highgate

      Jul 9, 2019

      Horror In Highgate
      2 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Dec 28, 2021

      Q&A
      3 min read

    • Article

      Making Tracks

      Apr 30, 2021

      Making Tracks
      8 min read

    • Article

      Bread: Feeding The Workers Of The Industrial Revolution

      Apr 20, 2023

      What was the state of bread-making prior to the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries? For 1,000 years before the Industrial Revolution, making bread was done in the home. You would make your dough and then you’d take it to a communal

      3 min read

    • Article

      Highclere Castle AT CHRISTMAS

      Nov 6, 2019

      Highclere Castle AT CHRISTMAS
      5 min read

    • Article

      Murder In Miniature

      Mar 26, 2020

      Murder In Miniature
      6 min read

    • Article

      What The Butler Saw

      Nov 30, 2022

      What The Butler Saw
      3 min read

    • Article

      Behind The Scenes

      Aug 9, 2018

      Those of our readers who have glanced at this page know that, over my past eight years as editor in chief, my favorite kind of letter is one in which I preview what the next pages hold. The staff here at ARCHAEOLOGY—editors Jarrett A. Lobell, Eric A.

      1 min read

    • Article

      History behind MIDDLE-EARTH

      Oct 6, 2022

      History behind MIDDLE-EARTH
      8 min read

    • Article

      West Words

      Sep 29, 2020

      ‘The greater portion of the laborers employed by us are Chinese, who constitute a large element in the population of California. Without them it would be impossible to complete the western portion of this great national enterprise within the time req

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Eastern Kentucky Railway

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Eastern Kentucky Railway - Terry L. Baldridge

      Hall.

      INTRODUCTION

      In the year 1865, two investors from Boston met to discuss various business ventures afar and within the Ohio River Valley. One idea was to invest in land and mineral rights along the Little Sandy River Valley in Greenup County, Kentucky, under the name Argillite Mining and Manufacturing Company. It was said that the land was rich in coal, iron, and timber. But neither of the two nor sub investors investigated the region to verify the claim. Two significant events transpired during 1865. First the company purchased 25,000 acres of land, which included a blast furnace at Argillite and the Greenup furnace several miles farther north; on December 14, 1865, the name of the company changed to Kentucky Improvement Company. Cast-iron property markers were placed throughout company-owned territory.

      During the same year, Nathaniel Thayer, one of the investors in the Greenup project, funded an expedition to South America led by Prof. Louis Agassiz. The Thayer expedition was considered a great success because of the quantities of collected items brought back to Cambridge. Also making up the expedition was an adventurous young man who enjoyed photography. Walter Hunnewell, son of financier Horatio Hollis Hunnewell, was granted permission to accompany the expedition south and would not return until 1866. H. H. Hunnewell was the second investor in the Kentucky Improvement Company. Both Hunnewell and Thayer were very familiar with each other and had on several occasions come together to invest their money in railroads, science, and other ventures, even bringing court tennis to the United States from England.

      It was apparent during the late 1860s that the quality of the coal and iron in the Little Sandy River Valley was well below average. Nevertheless, the furnaces used the coal and iron up and became the first in a long list of abandoned and sold Eastern Kentucky Railway properties.

      In 1870, reorganization took place, and on February 28, the Kentucky Improvement Company deeded to the newly organized Eastern Kentucky Railway its railroad, furnaces, and acres of coal, iron, and timber.

      The original intention of Thayer and Hunnewell was to extend their railroad to a junction with the Southern Atlantic and Ohio at the breaks of the Big Sandy River in Pike County, Kentucky. They also intended to bridge the Ohio River at Riverton to connect with the Scioto Valley Railroad and then build from the north bank of the Ohio to Lake Erie. Such a plan would have opened up the vast natural resources of Eastern Kentucky for a much earlier development of the hills.

      In 1857, Nathaniel Thayer became head of the Boston investment firm John E. Thayer and Brother following the death of his brother, John. Nathaniel Thayer gave generously to universities and causes throughout New England. Because he held the majority of railroad stock, Nathaniel Thayer became the first president of the Eastern Kentucky Railway in 1870, and he held that position until his death on March 7, 1883. H. H. Hunnewell was president of a couple of railways in Illinois and Missouri, but he is never mentioned as having dealings with the Eastern Kentucky Railway outside of the initial investment. It would seem that he passed that down to his son, Walter, who was named after H. H. Hunnewell’s father. A family friend and Eastern Kentucky Railway vice president, Col. H. W. Bates of Cincinnati, became the second president. Upon his death in the early 1900s, his son, Sturgis Bates, became president and held that position until the company was removed from the books in the mid-1930s. Sturgis lived the remaining years of his life in Ashland, Kentucky.

      Eventually a city named after Walter Hunnewell was formed near the Greenup furnace. The furnace and the town were called Hunnewell. This was nothing new; H. H. Hunnewell had towns named after him in Missouri and Kansas. Nathaniel Thayer had the honor of having Thayer, Missouri, and Thayer, Kansas, named after him. Because of their generosity, both had buildings at universities and in towns named in their honor.

      For almost 70 years, the tracks, bridges, and tunnels served the residents of Greenup, Carter, and Lawrence Counties in Eastern Kentucky. The railroad helped produce employment besides farming and hunting, and it gave people an opportunity to travel beyond the farm or nearest store. The railroad was a social center for rural Eastern Kentuckians. It became one of the first railroads in the region, and like many others that followed it, the Eastern Kentucky Railway would experience that last ride into the past—or would it?

      Many people discussed or recorded their memories of the Eastern Kentucky Railway. Fred Duncan, the Webbville agent, discussed his experiences regarding the railroad with his daughter Helen, and he recorded some of his duty experiences for pension purposes. Author Jesse Stuart wrote an article about the Eastern Kentucky Railway in the August 1937 issue of Esquire magazine. In 1968, he wrote the children’s book A Ride with Huey the Engineer, which drew upon some of his memories of favorite Eastern Kentucky Railway engineer Huey Cranyon. The late David Spencer recorded the stories he remembered hearing as a boy from his father, George, and others. Spencer recorded them in his newspaper articles from time to time. For several weeks, he took readers on a ride on

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1