Butler Depot
Butler Depot
Railroad History
By the late attorney E. E. Barton
Transcribed by Bonnie Snow with permission from The Pendleton
County Historical & Genealogical Society
Thanks Society!
Pendleton County Historical & Genealogical Society News
Letter
Volume IV Issue 3 September 1997
DeMossville was a thriving town before the railroad was built, and old residents have informed me the name was after a family of DeMoss. This family's graveyard is on the banks of the Licking River near the Campbell County line. The Masonic Lodge at that place bears the name DeMoss Lodge. This family in Kentucky is descended from Peter DeMoss, a French immigrant, a soldier in the Revolutionary War and perhaps came to America with LaFayette.
Butler was established when the railroad was constructed. It was first named Clayton, but afterwards changed to Butler after Hon. O. Butler at Carroll County, who was a member of Congress from the district in which Butler is included. The Butler State Park in Carroll County was established on land donated by General W. O. Butler.
Boston Station (Lynn) was founded by the Licking River Lumber and Mining Company, whose stockholders resided in Boston, Mass. The company bought large tracts of timber lands on headwaters of the Licking River and floated the logs down Licking River loose, but caught the logs at Boston by a series of booms in the river, connected one with another in a line at an angle with the thread of the steam and landed the logs on the west side of the river at the mill lot of thirty acres.
The logging and milling operations were handled by experienced
log men from the State of Maine, who settled and raised their families at
Boston, and who intermarried with local Kentuckians.
The mill was sold to Hon. W. A. Bradford and Christopher C. Hagemeyer, who moved
the machinery to Butler and continued in the milling business for many years.
The post office for that locality was formerly Meridian Station, about one mile
south of Butler, but when Boston Station was started, the Meridian office was
discontinued.
Menzie Station, about one or two miles south of Boston Station, was originally named Irvine Station, after Elisha Irvine and his wife, Sallie (Bonar) Irvine. The name of Irvine Station continued in use many years. The County records of roads, and many deeds make reference to Irvine, and the first public school in that locality was called the Irvine School.
Catawba, this town was organized by R. B. Bowler, President of the Kentucky Central Railroad Co., together with Hon. Leslie Combs, of Lexington, KY. Thomas Lewis Garrard and Charles R. ILiff, the latter two being residents of Pendleton County. The town was organized soon after R. B. Bowler became President of the railroad company. About 50 acres of land were laid out for the town site, with streets, a City Park and grounds for a college. Lots were sold at auction to many residents of Pendleton County and several residents of Falmouth who moved their families to Catawba.
Falmouth was chartered by the Kentucky Legislature in 1793, the
principal proprietor was John Waller of Virginia. The town is a part of
100 acres patented to Col. Holt Richardson for military services in the
Revolutionary War and was a Virginia soldier.
The town was laid off originally on 100 acres of Richardson's patent which laid
in the forks of the Main Licking and the South Licking Rivers. John Waller
was raised in Falmouth, Virginia.
Hays Station was named for Timothy Hays, a Cincinnati distiller
and inventor of an improved distillers yeast which made him a millionaire.
He bought the South Licking bottom land between the railroad and river and
located his family there and built the largest distillery ever in the county.
Earlier, the place was named Levingood, after an older settler in the same
place.
Morgan was first called Stowers Station after Richard Stowers who lived in that vicinity and was one of the Directors of the old KCRR Co., Later, the place was called Morgan, but where or how the name originated in not known.
Just across the South Licking River is the site of an old
village called Callensville, after Jonathon Callen, a merchant and inn keeper.
In the old town of Callensville were several stores, inn or taverns. and
adjacent to the town, in the wide South Licking River Valley was a race track
where Kentucky thoroughbreds were trained for racing circuits at Philadelphia,
Baltimore and other eastern states.
There was also nearby (but not to close) a tanyard where beef hides, deer hides
and other pelts were converted into leather. Callensville was where many
men were recruited for the Confederate Army.
After the advent of the railroad, Callensville was turned into farm land, and
the business of the community was transacted at Morgan Satation.
Several stations were located in Pendleton County, but with improved public roads and advent of the automobile, these stations were not found to be useful. The abandoned stations included Caldwell Station, between DeMossville and Butler, named for William Caldwell. on whose land the station was located, mainly for Mr. Caldwell's convenience. Meridian Station, heretofore mentioned. was a local place for supplying wood for wood burning locomotives. A thriving store was conducted there until Boston Station was started.