Beautiful Pewee Valley, The Resident Suburb Illustrated
This promotional booklet was produced about 1909 by Pewee Valley residents Powhatan Wooldridge, owner of The Locust; and George R. Washburne, who at one time owned two residences on Ash Avenue: the Washburne-Swan House and the Washburne-Waterfill House. It was printed by the George G. Fetter Company of Louisville. Within a couple of years, Mr. Fetter, too, succumbed to Pewee Valley's charms and purchased Oaklea, the late Judge Muir's home, at auction in 1912.
Many of the homes featured in "Beautiful Pewee Valley" are no longer around. Some burned. Others were demolished to make way for subdivisions. And some, after extensive remodeling over the past century, look entirely different today. The handwritten notes on some of the pages were made by Carolyn Brooks, the historian who worked with Pewee Valley to develop the city's National Register districts. Her work later formed the basis for "Historic Pewee Valley," privately published in 1991 by Historic Pewee Valley, Inc.
Many of the photos are known to have been taken by Pewee Valley photographer Kate Matthews. Some of the photos had previously appeared in newspaper articles about Pewee Valley as early as the 1897. Others, including the shot of downtown Pewee Valley encompassing the train depot, Jurey's store, Town Hall and the Interurban depot, appear to have been taken especially for this publication. Later on, Kate and shopkeeper W.N. Jurey turned several of the photos into postcards that were sold at his general store.
Special thanks to City Councilman Philip Henry Walser for providing the Pewee Valley Historical Society with the complete copy of the publication and City Councilwoman Bethany Major for scanning it.
Many of the homes featured in "Beautiful Pewee Valley" are no longer around. Some burned. Others were demolished to make way for subdivisions. And some, after extensive remodeling over the past century, look entirely different today. The handwritten notes on some of the pages were made by Carolyn Brooks, the historian who worked with Pewee Valley to develop the city's National Register districts. Her work later formed the basis for "Historic Pewee Valley," privately published in 1991 by Historic Pewee Valley, Inc.
Many of the photos are known to have been taken by Pewee Valley photographer Kate Matthews. Some of the photos had previously appeared in newspaper articles about Pewee Valley as early as the 1897. Others, including the shot of downtown Pewee Valley encompassing the train depot, Jurey's store, Town Hall and the Interurban depot, appear to have been taken especially for this publication. Later on, Kate and shopkeeper W.N. Jurey turned several of the photos into postcards that were sold at his general store.
Special thanks to City Councilman Philip Henry Walser for providing the Pewee Valley Historical Society with the complete copy of the publication and City Councilwoman Bethany Major for scanning it.
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