The Railroad Comes To Jackson

(Our Town Was The Rail Head Until 1912)

The railroad was completed to Jackson on July 15, 1891. However, this was over 35 years after the plans had been made for such a railway. On March 10, 1854, the Kentucky Legislature under a special act permitted and encouraged the formation of the Kentucky Union Railway Company. This organization planned to construct a railroad from Hedges Station, seven miles east of Winchester, through Clark, Powell, Wolfe, Breathitt, Perry, and Letcher Counties. This railway would then pass through Big Stone Gap (Pound) onward to Arlington, Va., there to connect with the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. This was a big job for those days and the broad plans eventually caused the downfall of the K.U.

For nearly twenty years after 1854 nothing was done except to acquire vast strips of coal and timber lands in Breathitt, Perry, Leslie, and Letcher Counties. During this time several surveys were made through Eastern Kentucky. The aims of these surveys, of course, were finding the easiest and cheapest route that would still reach the known coalfields. Thus, for thirteen years after 1873 nothing was done except the studying of reports and drawing up the actual blueprints for the railway.

The actual construction of the railroad began from Hedges Station, in the summer of 1886. Work moved along at a quick pace and the railway slowly made its way eastward. By December 1890 the line had reached Elkatawa (in Breathitt County), 52 miles southeast of Hedges Station. From Elkatawa the line was extended 3.07 miles to Jackson and was completed on July 15, 1891. There was, of course, much celebration in Jackson and many residents made the first run to Lexington. For most this was the first time out of Breathitt County and, of course, the people of Lexington had some fun with the green mountain people.

From Jackson to Lexington usually took about three to four hours, counting stops along the way. At that time flier were six tunnels and 20 bridges between Jackson and Lexington making the journey a thrilling experience for the unsuspecting mountaineer. Fares were cheap and many people made the trip often. Of course, mail, daily papers, and magazines were received in Jackson much more regularly and earlier than any time before 1890.

If plans originally called for extending the railway completely through the mountains, they were abandoned in 1891. Expenses had run far higher than originally planned and by 1891 the Kentucky Union Railway Company was broke. Thus, Jackson became the terminal point of construction of a line that was supposed to have extended nearly 200 additional miles. Facing bankruptcy the company borrowed heavily and at a foreclosure sale in March 1894, the Kentucky Union Railway Company died. All the properties of the Kentucky Union were conveyed to the Lexington and Eastern Railway on October 16, 1894. For many years this company did nothing except look after the already constructed railroad. In 1911 the L & N Railroad took over this small company. Finally, under L & N, the railway was extended to Hazard reaching there in June 17, 1912, then on to Whitesburg (October 20, 1912), and finally ending at McRoberts, Letcher Co. (November 25, 1912). This marked the end of the extension of this line in Eastern Kentucky.

The railroad, today, occupies the same road bed as it did when the Lexington and Eastern Railway passed through Breathitt. However, the original line of the old Ky. Union Railway between Winchester and Fincastle was requisitioned and removed by the War Production Board of the U.S. Government in 1942.

The coming of the railroad to Breathitt County did, of course, have many profound effects on the people. Until this time Breathitt had been far removed from the outside world. Visitors had been few and far between. Law and order had always been controlled by the strongest faction. The code of the mountains had been enough to provide family protection and honor. Family incomes were almost unbelievably low. Whole families lived on considerably less than $100 a year. Life was slow, easy going, and hard. Hardships were taken as everyday events, the mountaineers knew no other life. Each family supported itself and the community was very close. There were few secrets.

Now, however, after the arrival of the railway everything suddenly changed. Breathitt and Jackson changed almost overnight. The county was swamped with new people. New families moved in by the hundreds. Money became the all important topic. Get rich quick schemes were common. The easy going farm life was interrupted by the coal and timber industries. Everybody strived for wealth. Breathitt became a different world. Whole hills were stripped of the valuable trees. Dams were built, families fought over land, and a few people got rich. But most of the families would remain poor throughout this period even though they handled most of the valuable resources.

Of course, the railroad had an effect on Jackson. Where a small village of 200 had been in 1885 the population jumped to nearly a thousand by 1900. Empty lots were snapped up. New stores, churches, and even a show house appeared. Yes, Jackson was a boomtown.

Following is a comparison of two descriptions of Jackson, one before the railroad, the other after. The first description was given in 1878 by a city journalist from Cincinnati, Ohio. He stated that there were about thirty-five dwellings, two stores, a sawmill, and a blacksmith shop. His estimate of the population at this time did not exceed three hundred. However, the population of Jackson according to the 1880 U.S. Census was only 88. The difference may be accounted for when one realized that Jackson was not incorporated until 1889-90, thus each source may not have been the exact same area. To show the difference made by the railway here is a description that appeared in the Lexington Leader, June 1903: "Jackson contains one banking institution, the Jackson Deposit Bank, with a capital stock of $15,000. The officers are Floyd Day, president; F.P. Crawford, vice president; and J.S. Head, Jr., cashier. (Est. 1900) Two insurance agencies have local agents in Jackson and the city contains twelve general stores, two drugstores, one millinery store, three barber shops, one jewelry store, two hotels, and one restaurant. Two of the general stores are also wholesale houses and one of them, Hargis Brothers, does a business of over $100,000 annually."

Not mentioned in the latter account, but present in 1903, were three city churches, Lees Institute, a graded school, several blacksmith shops, a water powered mill, a new bridge, and two newspapers, The Jackson Hustler and The Breathitt Co. News. One can surely see that the railroad did indeed make Jackson into a boomtown.

Not only was there a large increase in trade, industry, and growth in Breathitt County because of the internal situation, but there was a large amount of money brought into Jackson from the other mountain counties. As the railway ended in Jackson, merchants and businessmen in Perry, Knott, Owsley, Leslie, Floyd, Magoffin, and Letcher Counties brought much of their business to Jackson, thus giving Breathitt added wealth. Timber and coal were floated down the North and Middle Forks of the Kentucky River to be hauled onward by rail. Also, several large lumber mills would soon play a major role in the county's economy.

Thus, between 1890 and 1912 Jackson and Breathitt County, indeed, boomed. The railroad brought them into a modern world. It was a ribbon of knowledge, wealth, and opportunity which connected these remote hills to a world few old mountaineers could understand. But this did not keep the more adventurous from grabbing hold and seeking their fortune. Some made progress but, of course, in the end outside industry and big business interests won the battle. They soon controlled our timber and mineral rights. Millions upon millions of dollars made from our rich minerals passed out of our region into the banks of the East. Few permanent improvements were really made, but it is safe to say that Breathitt County and Jackson went along for the ride and in many cases enjoyed it.