Scottsville L&N Depot Receives Historical Recognition

By Chris Cole,
Staff Writer

On Thursday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m., members of the City of Scottsville Historic Preservation Commission, The Allen County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society, The Scottsville Train Depot group, members of the city council, Mayor David Burch, Allen County Judge Executive Dennis Harper and “more people than we anticipated coming” showed up to the unveiling of The William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s historical marker places outside the newly built re-construction of the passenger office at the old Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad depot.

In place of a representative from The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, a letter was sent to be read aloud publicly at the unveiling of the plaque, which stands just outside the reconstruction and off to the side of a recently made small parking lot.

The letter read, in part, “By recognizing your community’s historic railroad depot with this Pomeroy Marker, Scottsville highlights an important part of your community’s transportation history. Constructed in 1887 for the Chesapeake & Nashville Railroad, the line was acquired in 1905 with passenger services continuing to 1953 and freight until 1977.”

The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, founded in Syracuse, N.Y. by William “Bill” Pomeroy, has stated a big part of its mission is the “celebration and preservation of community history” in addition to finding matching donors for bone marrow transfusions to fight blood cancers such as leukemia. That was the initial work of The William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

Historical Transportation is just one of roughly 22 types of history that The William G. Pomeroy Foundation has looked to highlight since 2005. To date there are nearly 3,000 various Pomeroy historical markers with 57 of them falling under the “Historical Transportation” category. The L&N Depot in Scottsville joins one of the locks along the Erie Canal, many important depots and bridges that linked large communities and helped to found towns as well as other important connections.

This historical marker is also the 27th Pomeroy Marker in the Commonwealth of Kentucky but the first under the category of Historical Transportation. Most of the others commemorate stops that the Marquis de Lafayette, a French general who was pivotal in the American Revolution, made as well as the homes of famous women in the suffragette movement which led to women having the right to vote. Some also commemorate historical districts.

In a prepared speech, Holly Wood of the City of Scottsville Historic Preservation Commission, stated, “When others saw a dilapidated building threatened by the wrecking ball, Dr. Huntsman saw an important part of Scottsville’s past. He saw history, the echo of every passenger who purchased a ticket and the crucial role this depot played in connecting our corner of Kentucky to other parts of America.”

She went onto say “This marker is a reminder of how the railroad shaped the lives of Allen Countians in the past and how it will continue to do so in the future of those who will come here to learn about American transportation history.”

Originally built as part of the Chesapeake & Nashville Railroad, the L&N would purchase the line in one of its expansions in 1905. There had been, at one time, plans to extend the line to Glasgow and even to this day if you walk behind the depot and along Old Glasgow Road for a few miles, you can see where a clearing was made and the land graded to lay track.

However, such plans never came to fruition and the line ran down to Gallatin, Tenn. where both passengers and freight such as oil (from nearby Petroleum), lumber and goods from farmers, would meet up with one of the main lines of the L&N.

Dr. Mark Huntsman described the unveiling of the Pomeroy Marker as “One step in a long journey.” While reconstructing the ticket office which, Dr. Huntsman said he “found the original blueprints for in the University of Louisville library” and that “it was difficult to go there as a UK guy,” is done, there is still work on the inside that needs to be done. A museum filled with items specifically from Scottsville’s depot will be on display. It’s just a matter mostly of picking out which items to include. Once selected, the items will be on display on the ground floor and a walking track that will act as a second story of sorts.

One item that is definitely included is the original “Scottsville” sign that hung above the entrance to the original ticket office.

“I contacted Cal (Turner) junior (about the sign) and he says ‘Well, it’s in my house in Colorado.’ I told him what we were doing and why we would like to have it back and he said, ‘I will assure you, before it’s complete you’ll have the sign,’” said Dr. Huntsman. “Three weeks after, Cal junior pulls up in the driveway. He had it shipped back from Colorado to Nashville then personally brought it to my house.”

Currently, the original sign that hung on the outside is displayed on the inside with a replica sign being made for the outside.

In addition to the work that will be going into the museum, which Dr. Huntsman says will be “open in the Spring,” there’s a focus to acquire a caboose to be displayed with the GE 70-ton yard switcher engine. One of 237 total that were built between 1947 and 1951, that particular engine was one of only two of that type purchased for the L&N and it actually serviced the Scottsville depot when it ceased operation completely in 1977.

Additional track has been laid down for the caboose along with room for the “speeder” track maintenance car that was acquired within the last year. As of right now, the biggest barrier to getting the caboose to Scottsville is the cost to transport it.

With the L&N depot now receiving a Pomeroy marker, Scottsville is listed on their website. Markers such as those from The William G. Pomeroy Foundation give an educational value to the communities they appear in, promote cultural tourism and create community engagement. They also become a local attraction to visitors and will also often help create partnerships which might not have existed previously.