Tag: transportation

Biplanes and Flight

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
A restored 1920’s biplane.
It was the age of Lindbergh – a time when little boys glued newspaper clippings in notebooks to keep track of the great aviator’s life.  I know this because we have Mr. Burl’s; it is a sweet memento from his childhood, and when I look at it, I can’t help but think that out of all the changes his generation witnessed, men taking to the air must have been the most amazing.
From the journals:
Since the days of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, airplanes have caused excitement.  A person living in a rural community like Bath County seldom saw an airplane until the late twenties. Maybe once a year,  a pilot flying an old biplane (two wings) would come here to pick up a few dollars.  Those early planes were small with wooden frames covered with treated canvas.
Much excitement was generated by those flyers who hopped around from one locality to another.  Occasionally, a daredevil pilot would drop down on one of the local pastures and offer rides for five dollars.  Back then, five dollars would have been a small fortune.  Not many locals were able to afford that fare, especially the younger people.
There were two spots around Owingsville on which those flyers were prone to land.   “Shields’ Flat” was a nice level place and was adjacent to town.  That land is now called Darnell Subdivision.  “Horseman’s Bottom”  was the other good spot and was then owned by Mr. Lennie Horseman.
Hope you enjoyed this post – Ginger
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, circa 1923.  In 1927, Lindbergh set records on his flight from New York to Paris, and upon  landing, “a crowd estimated at 150,000 spectators stormed the field, dragged Lindbergh out of the cockpit, and literally carried him around above their heads for nearly half an hour.”   The kidnapping of Lindbergh’s child in 1932 grabbed the attention of the entire nation – it was dubbed “The Crime of the Century.”  His controversial views on race, as well as his hesitancy regarding U.S.  involvement in WWII, add a complicated layer to the story of this true American hero, making him a fascinating character to learn more about.

U.S. 60 (The Midland Trail)

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn Uncategorized1 Comment
A Stanley Steemer

From the journals:
As highways began to criss-cross this country, it became apparent that a coast to coast national highway would come through the county.  United States’ highways running north and south were given odd numbers and those running east and west were given even numbers.  Hence, the U.S. highway traversing Bath County became U.S. 60.
The section of the new highway through Bath County was called the Midland Trail in the beginning.  Businesses in the area were named for the great new highway.  There was a Midland Trail Hotel in Mt. Sterling and also one in Morehead.
During construction of the Bath County section of the Midland Trail, the rock cement and sand for the concrete was transported by a narrow gauge railroad.  The tracks ran along the road bed itself, making it convenient for unloading those ingredients in the large concrete mixer.
After the ‘Trail’ had been completed from the Montgomery County line to Owingsville, the small track was left intact for some six months.  Boys from Owingsville would push one of the little freight cars up the grade as far as possible and then jump in the car for a fun ride down.
As good or decent highways were constructed, so the rapid increase of automobiles became apparent.  The names Model T Ford, Model A Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Buick, Cadillac, and Pontiac are familiar to most, but have you heard of the Chandler, Franklin, Hupmobile, Stutz Bearcat, Cord, Auburn, Marmon, Pierce Arrow, Moon, Stanley Steamer, and the Durant?
I meant to have more about the founding of the Chamber of Commerce and some of the controversy surrounding the building and naming of U.S.60, but the Library of Congress’s website is closed due to the government shutdown, and I have been accessing old newspapers there.  Hope you enjoyed this piece. -Ginger

The Hupmobile (I absolutely LOVE this car!)
“Uncle Ruby”
Reuben Walton Kincaid, Sr.   He helped found the Bath County Chamber of Commerce and acted as its first chairman.  The organization was originally called “The Business Men’s Association of Bath County” and it was expressly formed to ensure that U.S. 60 would pass through Bath County.  Mr. Burl thought the world of this man.  His son R.W. had a sleigh riding accident that eventually led to his death and lots of the older folk in Bath County remember the incident well.  And that’s a small town for you.  When a younger person dies, everybody in the community grieves.

Toll Roads and Railroads

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A spring wagon.

I’m not certain when my father-in-law (Mr. Burl to me) penned the following, but if you will notice, he writes as though the railroads were still operational, at least to a certain extent, and his reference to City Hall is to the old City Hall building on Slate Avenue.
From the journals:
There are those who believe that many of the old county roads were built on a cow path and perhaps they are right! In the early days of public roads there were toll gates and houses located at intervals along a roadway.  Usually the toll gate keeper lived in the house by the gate and did not miss any fee.  Roads were very narrow because there were no autos at the time.  Many bridges were covered.  The Sherburne covered bridge was the last one in Bath County, and it was burned several years ago.
Buggies, hacks, spring wagons and farm wagons were the means of land transportation other than the railroads.  The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad has maintained its line through the county for years.  The Salt Lick and Preston depots were busy up through the 1940’s, and then trucks began to take over much of the transportation of goods.  Bus lines began to claim more and more of the transportation of people.  The first bus line to be awarded a franchise to transport through Bath County on U.S. 60 was the Blue Goose Bus Line.  Their busses were “touring” cars with cloth tops and side curtains.
A narrow gauge railroad operated between Owingsville and Olympia, hence the name “O&O.”  This was the connector line between Owingsville and the Chesapeake and Ohio lines.  The O&O operated for several years but has been defunct some seventy years.  The station in Owingsville was located in the ravine just below where City Hall now stands.
Not that I’m encouraging anybody to go exploring, but my husband, Don, says the old railroad tracks are still down in the ravine behind the old City Hall building.  
Also, the collecting of tolls was a cause of great discord, even in Bath County. Violence against toll gate keepers was commonplace.  More about that next time but see the notice below for an example of a tollgate war in Versailles. – Ginger