History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. I, Part 12

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co.
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. I > Part 12

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At the end of the fiscal year of the company, June 30, 1879, the Louisville & Nashville corpo- ration owned its original main stem and branches, 651.73 miles in all; operated under lease the Nashville & Decatur, 119.09 miles, and the Glas- gow Branch, 10.5 miles; and under stock ma- jority, the South & North Alabama, 188.88 miles; making a total of owned and leased lines of 970.2 miles. Very large accessions were made to the lines in 1879-80-81; and the operations of the company June 30, of the last year named, were represented by the following statement in its annual report :

Owned in fee or through entire capital stock: Main Stem, 185.23 miles; Bardstown Branch, 17.3 miles; Lebanon-Knoxville Branch, 110.3 miles; Richmond Branch, 33.8 miles; Cecilian Branch, 46 miles; Memphis Division, 259.1 miles; Henderson Division, 135.22 miles; Pen- sacola Division, 45 miles; Pensacola & Selma Division, 40 miles; Pensacola Extension, 32 miles; Southeast and St. Louis, 208 miles ; Mo- bile & Montgomery, 180 miles; New Orleans & Mobile, 141 miles; Pontchartrain, 5 miles; total, 1,437.95 miles. Operated under lease: Nashville & Decatur, 119.09 miles; Southern Division Cumberland & Ohio, 30.58 miles; Glas- gow Branch, 10.5 miles; Selma Division (West- ern of Alabama), 50 miles; total 210. 17 miles. Operated under stock majority: South & North Alabama, 188.88 miles; Owensboro & Nashville, 35 miles; total, 223.88-making a total directly

operated of 1,872 miles. In addition the com- pany is interested in the control and manage- ment of the following lines, operated under sep- arate organizations: Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis railway system (in which the Louisville & Nashville company owns a majority of the capital stock), 521 miles; Georgia railroad and dependencies (controlled through joint lease with the Central railroad company of Georgia) as follows: Georgia railroad and branches, 305 miles; Atlanta & West Point railroad, 87 miles; Rome railroad of Georgia, 20 miles; Port Royal railroad, 112 miles; Western railroad of Alabama, 117 miles; total 1, 162. Add to this the Louis- ville & Nashville system proper, as above, 1,872 miles. Total of roads owned, operated, and controlled in the interest of the Louisville & Nashville company, 3,034 miles.

Later in 1881 the company acquired control of the Short Line road (Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington), by the purchase of its entire stock, and thus added 174.9 miles of standard guage (also 51.6 miles leased) and 11 miles of narrow guage line, to its already gigantic total, making an aggregate of 3,271 1/2 miles of its lines. The Louisville, Westport & Harrod's Creek Narrow Guage railroad is now operated by this company. The Short Line was made an integral part of the Louisville & Nashville system, and is operated simply as a division thereof.

The earnings of the company from traffic dur- ing the year 1880-81, were $4, 198,518.32 ; real- ized from investments, $225,209.17 ; undivided earnings from previous year, $228,382.62 ;- total credits to income account, $4,652, 110.1I. Charges of all kinds against income account, $3,079,088.41. Balance to credit of income account, $1,573,021.70, from which $1,087,800 had been paid in semi-annual dividends to stock- holders of 3 per cent, and a surplus carried to the income account of 1881 -- 82 of $485,221.70.

The general offices of this great company are in Louisville. Mr. C. C. Baldwin is president ; General E. P. Alexander, first vice-president ; . George A. Washington, second vice-president ; Willis Ranney, secretary ; A. M. Quarrier, as- sistant president and secretary ; Fred De Funiak, general manager.

LOUISVILLE, NEW ALBANY AND CHICAGO.

This is the old New Albany & Salem railroad,

HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

with its later extension and branches. The orig- inal company was formed January 25, 1847. The Louisville Courier-Journal for November 26, 1880, contains an excellent sketch of the history of this road, from which we extract the following:

Its early history is connected with the effort on the part of the State of Indiana to foster internal improvements. Long before 1850 it was laid out as a macadamized road from New Albany to Crawfordsville. It was one part of that system of internal improvements which Indiana began and which her statesmen deemed the turning-point in her destiny, and which they considered would make her the greatest of the Western States. When, however, she was compelled to give up her scheme of internal improvements, compound her debts, and surrender the portion of the work she had accomplished to private corporations, this road, un- der a special law, became the New Albany & Salem railroad, and was completed between these two points.

Then a more ambitious turn seized its owners and holders, and they resolved to cross the State of Indiana from end to end-to run from the Ohio river to Lake Michigan-and make this line the great connecting link between the North- west lakes and the Ohio river and its outlets. It was opened from New Albany to Michigan City on the 4th day of July, 1852, amid great rejoicings and with anticipations of un- bounded success.

It had been opened from New Albany to Salem in 1849, and had been pushed with great vigor until it reached, as be- fore said, from the Ohio river to the lakes. It started with the bane of all railway enterprises in the West-too much debt. It had a bonded debt at first of $2,325,000 in eight per cents .; $500,000 ten per cents .; $2,070,000 seven per cents .; $405,456 income bonds, and $12,840 six per cent. bonds, and $2,525,223 of capital stock, making a grand total of $7,838,519.

In 1858 trouble began. With the then state of develop- ment of the railroad system, the bonded debt of the road was too large. The road detaulted for one year upon its inter- est. It was then placed, by the agreement of all parties, into the hands of D. D. Williamson, trustee, who had been one of the most prominent and trusted men of New York, and who was comptroller of New York and president of the Farmers' Loan and Trust company. The road was held by Mr. Williamson as such trustee until 1869, when proceedings were had for a foreclosure of the mortgage liens, and after various changes in courts it was finally sold under a decree of the United States circuit court for the district of Indiana in September, 1872, and purchased by the bondholders, and re- organized in December, 1872, with a capital stock of $3,000,- 000.

George L. Schuyler, of New York, was the first President. In one year William F. Reynolds, of Lafayette, Indiana, suc- ceeded him, and remained in office until March, 1877, when he in turn was succeeded by George P. Tolman, of New York. Mr. Tolman held his position until January, 1880, when R. S. Veech, of Louisville, Kentucky (its present chief officer), assumed control of the destinies of this corporation. - From 1872 down to 1880 absolutely nothing was done with this great property. Its tracks became worn and out of con- dition ; its iron, of old English chain-rail, became loose and disjointed ; its ties rotten, and only until 1879 was any great sum expended upon the repair and equipment of the road.

Mr. Veech, assisted by Dr. Standiford, then president of the Louisville & Nashville railroad, Colonel Bennett H. Young, and Mr. St. John Boyle, had already and very quietly secured a controlling interest in the road by arrangement with large stockholders and by purchase of its stock in New York city-which, when they be- gan to buy, could be had at twenty-five cents on the dollar. Under the new administration, says the Courier-Journal writer, "the equipment was immediately and largely increased; new engines, new cars, new track, new everything, were want- ing, which were supplied. Through trains were put upon the road, and its earnings increased with almost startling rapidity, the first few months running up to an increase of from sixty to seventy per cent. over the business of the previous year. These earnings developed the capacity of the road not only to pay the interest upon a large debt, but also to provide for a divi- dend upon the stock." In addition 98 miles of track were relaid during 1880 with the fish-bar joint, 15 miles of it with steel; 16 bridges were entirely rebuilt, and others repaired or remodeled, at a cost of $90,000. Many other improvements have been made, and the road is now on a solid and apparently permanent foundation.

THE ELIZABETHTOWN AND PADUCAH.

' The road was chartered under this name in 1867. The next year the city of Louisville voted it a million, and another million in 1873. Its name subsequently became the Paducah, Elizabethtown & Southern railroad. It was fin- ished from Paducah to Elizabethtown in 1872, and two years later the Cecilian Branch, or Louisville end, was opened. April 18, 1876, a decree of foreclosure and sale was made against it by Judge Ballard, of the United States court, and it was sold thereunder August 24th of the same year. It was purchased by a new com- pany, which presently sold the Cecilian Branch (forty-five miles) to the Louisville & Nashville corporation, they retaining the rest, or main line of 185 miles. The cost of the whole 230 miles was about $4,500,000.

THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI.

This road was chartered by Indiana February 12, 1848; Ohio, March 15, 1849; and Illinois, February 12, 1851. It was built by two separate corporations, and completed in 1867, with a six-

HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

foot guage, which has since been changed to standard. Since November 21, 1867, it has been operated under one management, but in two divisions-the Eastern, from Cincinnati to the Illinois State line; and the Western, com- prising the line thence to St. Louis. An act of the Indiana Legislature March 3, 1865, provided for the branch from North Vernon, through Clark and other counties in that State, to Louis- ville, which was opened in 1868, and has since. been successfully operated. Its Louisville branch is 52.52 miles long.

THE LOUISVILLE, EVANSVILLE AND ST. LOUIS.

The germ of this road lay in a project of forty-five years ago. In 1837 a line was pro- jected from New Albany to Alton, Illinois ; but it never got further than the grading of the section between Mt. Carmel and Albion. In 1869 a charter was granted by the Legislature of Indiana to a New Albany & St. Louis Railroad company, and soon after another to the St. Louis, Mt. Carmel & New Albany Railroad company. These corporations were united in July, 1870, under the name of the Louisville, New Albany & St. Louis Railroad company. Its first officers were the Hon. Augustus Bradley, of New Al- bany, president; Jesse J. Brown, of New Albany, vice-president; George Lyman, secretary and treasurer; and Roland J. Dukes, chief engineer. A number of routes were surveyed, and location finally made as follows: From Louisville to New Albany, by the bridge and the track of the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad; thence in an "air line" to the Wabash river at Mt. Carmel; thence to Mt. Vernon, Illinois, where it would connect with the St. Louis & Southeastern railroad. Its own line would thus be but one hundred and eighty miles long; and its cost was estimated, in that era of high prices, at $6,205,000. The city of Louisville subscribed $500,000, New Albany $300,000, the Jefferson- ville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad, $100,000, the Louisville Bridge company $25,000, Floyd county $95,000; other counties or municipalities, $330,000; and individuals, $1,411,350. Work was presently begun on the line, and went on briskly till these subscriptions were used up. The directors resolved to issue first mortgage bonds to the amount of $4,525,000; but the time was unfavorable for selling them, and the

work stopped. Most of the grading, tunneling, and trestle-work, however, for eighty miles west of New Albany, was done; while three miles of track had been laid out of New Albany, and trains were running on a twenty-eight mile sec- tion between Princeton, Indiana, and Albion, Illinois. In 1875 the company was unable to meet the interest upon even the small amount of bonds which had been paid out or negotiated, the mortgage was foreclosed, and the road sold out for $23,000! A new board was formed, with Dr. Newland, of New Albany, president, and Jesse J. Brown, vice-president. The project still lay dormant, however, till February, 1879, when a reorganization of the board was effected, with St. John Boyle, of Louisville, as president; G. C. Cannon, of New Albany, as vice-president ; and George Lyman, of the same, secretary and treasurer. The " Air-line " was dropped from the name, and it became the Louisville, New Albany & St. Louis Railroad company. The purpose of the company was changed to a build- ing of the road from New Albany to Princeton, Indiana, whence cars are running to Albion, Illinois, where a St. Louis junction is made with the road from Cairo to Vincennes. It was thought this could not be done for $1,500,000.

Later, the company has bought the roads from Jasper, Indiana, to Evansville and Rockport, and the name of the line has been changed to the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis. At the meeting of the Directors in Boston in March, 1882, Mr. John Goldthwaite, of that city, was re elected president ; St. John Boyle, of Louis- ville, vice-president and general manager; and Edward Cummings, of Boston, second vice- president. All necessary money to complete the road had been raised. Until the new Kentucky & Indiana bridge is built, a ferry transfer will be used between New Albany and Louisville, and a track laid down the Kentucky shore from Port- land to the Louisville & Nashville depot.

THE CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO.

The Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis road, it is announced, will form the western connection of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, the com- pletion of which from Huntington, West Vir- ginia, to Lexington, Kentucky, in the summer of 1881, opened to Louisville very important new connections with Richmond, Norfolk, and

HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

other cities of the Atlantic seaboard. By favora- ble arrangements with the Short Line, the Chesapeake & Ohio is bringing its traffic directly to Louisville; and as we close these pages it is announced that the square fronting on Water street, and running back to the Bremaker-Moore paper-mill, in Louisville, has been purchased by this corporation for depot purposes. It is possi- ble also that shops of the road may be located in the city.

THE FORT WAYNE, CINCINNATI, AND LOUISVILLE.

This road does not enter Louisville. It is the new name of the Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cin- cinnati Railroad, running from Newcastle, In- diana, to Rushville, Indiana, where it connects with a road owned by the Cincinnati, Indianap- olis, St. Louis, & Chicago Railroad, which runs to North Vernon, whence the Ohio & Mississippi Branch brings the connection into Louisville. The Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati was sold under foreclosure the latter part of 1881, and on New Year's day following the Fort Wayne, Cin- cinnati & Louisville Company took possession. A link of the line from Louisville to Fort Wayne (two hundred and nine miles) had been completed shortly before from Greensburg to Rushville, Indiana, so that there is now direct railway con- nection between the former two cities.

THE LOUISVILLE, HARROD'S CREEK AND WEST- PORT.

This, a mere local narrow-guage road, of only eleven miles' length, was opened in 1875. It was an unfortunate venture, pecuniarily regarded ; and it was sold June 23, 1879, for only $30,500, to the Short Line, by which, or rather by the late owner, the Louisville & Nashville corporation, it is now operated. It is the only railway lying altogether in Jefferson county.

RAILWAY NOTES.

The Louisville Transfer railway, however, of 4. 13 miles' length, and a double guage of 5 feet and 4 feet 81/2 inches, connects the Louisville and Nashville tracks, a little south of the city, with the Short Line tracks and depots, thus obviating the necessity of tracks through more crowded parts of the city. It was constructed in 1872.

The Louisville Railway bridge has also a mile of track.

A recently formed company is about to build

a belt railway from New Albany to Jefferson and Watson, five miles out on the Ohio and Missis- sippi branch, thus bringing that road into more intimate connections with the first-named city and the new Kentucky and Indiana bridge.

In 1877 Louisville subscribed $150,000 to a road in the interior called the Richmond, Irwin & Three Forks railroad, conditioned that this subscription should complete the track from Richmond to Beattyville, Lee county, and thus open up connections between Louisville and the rich timber and mineral region about the head- waters of the Kentucky river.

New Albany had an interest in the first rail- road company formed in Southern Indiana. It was chartered at the legislative session of 1835- 36, to build a railway between the two points named; but the project was killed by the great financial crisis of 1837.

The New Albany & Sandusky railroad was chartered at the session of 1852-53. The city council of New Albany subscribed $400,000 to the project, and work was begun on the road- bed; but a public meeting of citizens indignantly repudiated the issue of bonds, and the scheme did not survive the blow.

TURNPIKE ROADS.

Many historic notes concerning these are em- braced in our township histories. We give here such of more general interest as have been picked up in the course of other investigations.

In 1832 the Louisville & Portland Turnpike company had been formed, with a capital of $10,000, to construct three miles of wagon-road between the two places-then, of course, separ- ate. J. T. Gray was president of the company; George C. Gwathmey, treasurer; Richard Tun- stall, toll-keeper.

The Louisville & Shippingport company had two miles of road and $8,ooo capital. W. W. Worsley was president, and S. S. Goodwin treas- urer.

The same year the Louisville & Shelbyville Turnpike company was in existence, with $100,- ooo capital and twenty miles of road. B. N. Hobbs, president; G. C. Gwathmey, treasurer.

Also the Louisville & Bardstown company, with ten miles of turnpike; John Speed, presi- dent, and J. P. Oldham, treasurer.

HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

When the second Directory was published in Louisville, that for 1838-39, the following turn- pike companies had their headquarters in the city, and are thus noticed :

Louisville & Lexington Turnpike Road company. Levi Tyler, president. This road intersects Main street at the eastern limits of the city, near Wenzel street.

Louisville & Bardstown Turnpike Road company. Levi Tyler, president. Intersecting Jefferson street at its eastern limit, near Wenzel street,

Louisville & Elizabethtown Turnpike Road company. Robert N. Miller, president ; Daniel E. Jones, treasurer.

Louisville Southern Turnpike Road company. John W. Tyler, president. This road intersects the Louisville & Elizabethtown Turnpike road at or near Eighteenth street, until it intersects the Ohio river a short distance above Paddy's run, intending to meet a road laid off by the States of Indiana and Illinois, commencing immediately opposite on the Indiana shore, and running through Indiana and Illinois to Alton.

In the Historical Sketch of Louisville, ap- pended to the same work, is another notice of townships and railroads, in which occurs the fol- lowing :

The principal roads now completed and being completed, pointing to Louisville as a center, are turnpikes to Frankfort by Shelbyville, to Bardstown by Elizabethtown, which will be extended as interest may determine hereafter; turnpike from New Albany to the interior of Indiana. Be- sides these, many other avenues for trade are contemplated and will be opened in a few years, such as a railroad or turnpike to Nashville, a railroad from Jeffersonville through Indiana, a railroad to Alton, Illinois, and many others which the great resources of the growing country will point out as necessary.

One of the most notable enterprises of the kind on the Indiana side was the New Albany & Vincennes turnpike, provided for by the Leg- islature during the internal improvement mania of 1835-36. The State spent from its own treas- ury $616,516 upon it, and then, having no more money or credit to expend, transferred it to a private company, getting back in all but $27,311 in tolls. The company completed the road from New Albany to Paoli, which is still in excellent condition and doing good service to the trade and travel of the former place.

STEAMER LINES.

Some half-dozen steamer lines accommodate the cities at the Falls; but we have space to notice but one, the most famous and venerable of all, the staid and staunch

LOUISVILLE AND CINCINNATI UNITED STATES MAIL LINE.

This is by far the oldest transportation line on the Western waters. The company to run steam- ers between Cincinnati and Louisville was formed in 1818, and is maintained to this day-sixty- four years. In that year it built the "General Pike," the first steamer built exclusively for pas- sengers. Her trip was between Louisville and Cincinnati, making the distance in thirty-one hours, which was regarded as good time for that day. Captain Bliss was her first commander; then, in order, came Captains Penewitt and John M. Rowan. Jacob Strader, afterwards a very wealthy and prominent steamboatman at Cincinnati, was then clerk in the company's office. This boat was very successful, and it soon be- came necessary to build larger and better vessels. In 1847 ten fine steamers were built for an addi- tional line from Cincinnati to St. Louis. By these the time from the Falls to the latter city was re- duced from four or five days to thirty-nine to forty-four hours. About 1855 the company built the two floating palaces, the Jacob Strader and the Telegraph No. 2, at a cost together of nearly $400,000. These boats could run eighteen miles per hour. The company has since owned the fine steamers Benjamin Franklin, United States, General Lyttle, General Anderson, General Buell, General Pike, Lewis E. Sherley, and City of Frankfort, most of which are well known to the traveling public. The general offices of the company are in Cincinnati.

GENERAL HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY,

CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.

Geographical Description - Area-Acres Improved -Pre- cincts-Towns-Post-offices-Surface of the County-Re- sources-The Knobs-Waters of the County-Beargrass Creek-Harrod's Creek-Dr. Drake on the Topography of The Louisville Region-Old Buffalo Roads-Wild Animals in the Early Day-The Climate-The Soil and its Culture -Geology of the County in Detail-Analysis of Soils and Rocks.

GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION.

Jefferson county, Kentucky, is situated upon the river Ohio, about midway of its tortuous course along the northern and western fronts of the State, and not far from equidistant from Cat- lettsburg, in the northeastern corner, and Hick- man in the southwest, but somewhat nearer to Catlettsburg. It is bounded on the north by Oldham county and the river Ohio, beyond which it looks across to the counties of Clark, Floyd, and Harrison, in Indiana; on the west by the same stream; on the south by Bullitt county ; and on the east by Shelby and Spencer counties. It contains about six hundred square miles, and the number of acres improved is not far from one hun- dred and sixty thousand, or nearly one-half the entire area of the county. (In 1876 the number of improved acres was 152,494. This is, we sup- pose, exclusive of the space occupied by the city and by town-sites.)

The county is divided into twenty-one pre- cincts, corresponding to the "townships" of most of the Northern States. They are Anchorage, Blankenbaker, Boston, Cane Run, Cross Roads, Fairmount, Fisherville, Gilman's, Harrod's Creek, Jeffersontown, Johnstown, Meadow Lawn, Mid-

dletown, O'Bannon, Seatonville, Shardine, Shive- ly's Springdale, Spring Garden, Two-mile House, and Wood's. The villages or towns of the county are Anchorage, Fisherville, Harrod's Creek, Jef- fersontown, Newburg, Middletown, and St. Mat- thew's. Besides these there are post-offices as follow: Crescent Hill, Cross Roads, Eden, Fair- mount, Floyd's Fork, Lockland, ]. Long Run, Lyndon, O'Bannon, Orell, Pleasure Ridge Park, River View, Taylor's Station, Valley Station, and Worthington, The county is thus well provided with postal facilities, and has a goodly number of post offices at convenient distances within it.

THE SURFACE

of the county is undulating and broken in the southwest part, which has a stiff clay soil, and on the lower levels produces well in crops of corn, oats, and grapes; on the higher grounds fruit is grown to advantage. The northern and northwestern part, including most of the Louis- ville region, is generally a level plateau, well ele- vated above the highest reach of inundations by the river, and forming a beautiful and produc- tive plain. It has a rich, alluvial soil, yielding in abundance and great perfection all kinds of vegetables, grains, and fruits grown in the temper- ate zone. The frontage of the county on the Ohio river is about forty miles, and the alluvial bottoms all along are exceedingly productive. The northeast part of the county, all the way above Louisville, is beautifully undulating, with a fine, fertile soil, producing luxuriantly the cereal grains and fruits. The whole country, indeed, has peculiar fitness for the market-gar-

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History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. I, Part 12

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co. Number of Pages: 814

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co.
Number of Pages: 814