Interurban Depot
The Interurban Depot in Pewee Valley was located on the site of what is now the 314 Exchange. Photo from the City of Pewee archives.
Nineteenth century Peweeans were able to live in Pewee Valley and commute to their jobs in Louisville thanks to the railroad. The Short Line/Accommodation Train, which ran in the morning and evening, carried them to and from work. Special cars could be ordered to deliver passengers to auction sales, weddings, funerals and other events in suburbia. But on the whole, the Short Line's schedule wasn't especially convenient. An excursion to downtown Louisville took the entire day, since trains ran mainly in the morning and evening.
In 1901 a wealthy Anchorage man named Percival Moore started an electric streetcar service especially for suburbanites on the eastern fringe of Jefferson and western fringe of Oldham County: the Louisville, Anchorage & Pewee Valley Company. His plan was announced in the January 15, 1901 Courier-Journal:
... The first steps were taken yesterday where articles of incorporation were filed here incorporating the Louisville, Anchorage and Pewee Valley Railway Company. The incorporators are H.H. Bechtel, Cincinnati; C.C. Tennis, Philadelphia; and Percival Moore, Saunders P. Jones, S.P. Meyer, James F. Buckner, Jr., and Joseph McWilliams, of this city.
...While all the plans have not been formulated, it is stated that it is the purpose of this company to build an immense pleasure park at Pewee Valley for the entertainment of Louisville people during the summer months. One of the incorporators said yesterday afternoon that the company undoubtedly would equip a park, which would have no equal in the country for entertainments during the summer months. The promoters feel that Louisville badly needs a summer resort like Ludlow Lagoon or Coney Island near Cincinnati, or Uhrig's Cave near St. Louis, situated some distance from the city, where people can go on summer evenings and spend a few pleasant hours and enjoy a cool ride back to the city...
In 1901 a wealthy Anchorage man named Percival Moore started an electric streetcar service especially for suburbanites on the eastern fringe of Jefferson and western fringe of Oldham County: the Louisville, Anchorage & Pewee Valley Company. His plan was announced in the January 15, 1901 Courier-Journal:
... The first steps were taken yesterday where articles of incorporation were filed here incorporating the Louisville, Anchorage and Pewee Valley Railway Company. The incorporators are H.H. Bechtel, Cincinnati; C.C. Tennis, Philadelphia; and Percival Moore, Saunders P. Jones, S.P. Meyer, James F. Buckner, Jr., and Joseph McWilliams, of this city.
...While all the plans have not been formulated, it is stated that it is the purpose of this company to build an immense pleasure park at Pewee Valley for the entertainment of Louisville people during the summer months. One of the incorporators said yesterday afternoon that the company undoubtedly would equip a park, which would have no equal in the country for entertainments during the summer months. The promoters feel that Louisville badly needs a summer resort like Ludlow Lagoon or Coney Island near Cincinnati, or Uhrig's Cave near St. Louis, situated some distance from the city, where people can go on summer evenings and spend a few pleasant hours and enjoy a cool ride back to the city...
Actual work on the line started just a few weeks after the announcement. The City of Pewee Valley's 1901 minutes include this entry for February 4th, when the company petitioned Town Council for a franchise:
Mr. Upton Muir as atty for Louisville, Anchorage, and Pewee Valley Electric Railway Co. came before the board and in a very pleasing manner presented a petition from said R.R. Co. asking for a franchise. (Editor's note: Upton Muir was the son of Judge Peter B. Muir and resided at Oaklea)
That same year, the company also purchased a right-of-way through Pewee Valley from the Louisville & Nashville Railroad for $1,200.
Mr. Upton Muir as atty for Louisville, Anchorage, and Pewee Valley Electric Railway Co. came before the board and in a very pleasing manner presented a petition from said R.R. Co. asking for a franchise. (Editor's note: Upton Muir was the son of Judge Peter B. Muir and resided at Oaklea)
That same year, the company also purchased a right-of-way through Pewee Valley from the Louisville & Nashville Railroad for $1,200.
Above, this blueprint shows the plan for a depot and turnaround on the two acres purchased by the Louisville, Anchorage & Pewee Valley Railway Co. in 1902. From the City of Pewee Valley archives. Below, a closeup of a Kate Matthews photograph taken about 1909 showing the buildings on Railroad Avenue. W.N. Jurey's general store is in the foreground, the interuban station is at the far right.
The line officially opened on November 18, 1901 with service from Beard's Station in Crestwood to the downtown Louisville station near the site of the PNC Plaza today. The next year, the company purchased land in Pewee Valley for a depot. The August 12, 1902 Courier-Journal reported:
Electric Road Buys Two Acres for a Depot and Switches
Pewee Valley, Aug. 11. -- The Louisville, Anchorage and Pewee Valley Company has bought of W.N. Jurey for $550, two acres of land on Railroad avenue (editor's note: now Mt. Mercy Drive). A depot and switches will be built on the land and other improvements added, according to the needs of the company.
The depot allowed the company to sell tickets in Pewee Valley and provided waiting passengers with shelter and restroom facilities. Later, the turnaround included an ice house where fresh milk and other perishables could be stored while awaiting transport to the city.
While the pleasure park originally planned for Pewee Valley never materialized, the interurban ushered in a local building boom and increased real estate values, according to the February 6, 1902 Courier-Journal:
Pewee Valley is experiencing quite a boom in real estate. In addition to the recently-reported sale of the Burge place at a price that was much in advance of what it would have been a year ago, there have been several real estate actions of importance. Mr. J.W. Stine, of Louisville, has bought the home formerly occupied by Mr. J.H. Ellis, of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company. He will make extensive improvements in the house at an expense of several thousand dollars. Mr. Stine expects to move his home early in the spring. Mr. Ellis has taken up his residence in Louisville.
Mrs. Henry Lawton, widow of Gen. Lawton, has had plans made for the handsome residence which she will build on a site facing the residence of her mother, Mrs. Craig. The house is to be one of the most elegant in Pewee. It will be built in the spring.
Mr. S.W. Mitchell, who has recently come to Louisville from Chicago to engage in business in Louisville, has bought the property where the Kentucky College formerly stood. the buildings of this institution were burned more than a year ago, and the grounds have been unoccupied since then. Mr. Mitchell will build a handsome residence there as soon as the weather becomes favorable to such operations.
Mr. W. T. Hanke, formerly of Eminence, is building a pretty cottage opposite the post office.
All along the lines of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, and of the new electric railway company, from Louisville to Beard's Station (editor's note: Crestwood, Ky.), real estate has increased in value, and there is lively inquiry for building lots. While some owners are disposed to take advantage of this and divide their property into small lots, the old farmers along the line give little inclination to give way to the demand...
Riding the Interurban
Interurban shelter at The Locust, from "Pewee Valley: Land of the Little Colonel" published in 1974 by Katie S. Smith
A Valley Vignette from the March 1988 Call of the Pewee described how the interurban service worked:
...Cars leaving Louisville at 6:45 a.m. arrived in Pewee at 7 a.m., in speeds as high as 50 miles an hour. They ran hourly to LaGrange, looping at Pewee Valley ... on the half hour. Fare from Louisville to LaGrange was 55 cents...
...Cars reached Pewee Valley via Anchorage on track paralleling the L&N track. Ticket books were available for students riding to Crestwood School from Pewee, Glenarm, or anywhere along the way. Stops were made going east at Houston (editor's note: also referred to as Huston in some historical documents), Pewee Valley depot, Muir, Wooldridge, Locust Lodge, Crestwood, Kenwood, Camden, Rosemont, Alpine, Kendrick and Glenarm. Some favorite conductors were Mr. Abbott, Mr. Pennington, Leonard Thompson; the Pewee Valley stationmaster was Mr. Allen...
...Cars leaving Louisville at 6:45 a.m. arrived in Pewee at 7 a.m., in speeds as high as 50 miles an hour. They ran hourly to LaGrange, looping at Pewee Valley ... on the half hour. Fare from Louisville to LaGrange was 55 cents...
...Cars reached Pewee Valley via Anchorage on track paralleling the L&N track. Ticket books were available for students riding to Crestwood School from Pewee, Glenarm, or anywhere along the way. Stops were made going east at Houston (editor's note: also referred to as Huston in some historical documents), Pewee Valley depot, Muir, Wooldridge, Locust Lodge, Crestwood, Kenwood, Camden, Rosemont, Alpine, Kendrick and Glenarm. Some favorite conductors were Mr. Abbott, Mr. Pennington, Leonard Thompson; the Pewee Valley stationmaster was Mr. Allen...
Interurban Schedule December 2, 1902
The electric railway proved a boon to Oldham County residents, as evidenced by these first-hand accounts of riding the interurban from a January 2003 Roundabout Louisville article by contributing writer Helen E. McKinney:
An interurban car wends its way down the tracks in Pewee Valley.
...It was just a blessing,” said Oldham County resident Jim Calvert, who has always been fascinated by trains. “It was fast, and warm in the winter.”
... In an era when the only other way to travel was by horse and buggy over unpaved, dusty roads, the interurban was a luxury to those who used it.
Calvert, 80, remembers riding the interurban to Camp Kavanaugh when he was a boy. “A round trip ticket to Louisville cost 60 cents. It meant a lot to Oldham County,” he said...
...Calvert said it was great for dairy farmers and their wives. It was now possible for the farmer’s wife to go to town, do her shopping, and still arrive home in time to fix dinner. The interurban could travel at speeds of “65 to 80 mph on the long runs such as Louisville to La Grange,” said Jack Diehl. Diehl has researched the interurban and written a column about it for the Division 8 National Model Railroad Association. In the city, they averaged 15-20 mph, said train enthusiast Charles Keeling of Louisville.
Keeling, 86, also rode the interurban, a ride that he compared to, “A rolling barn-with wheels on it.”
For the most part, the ride was smooth, and the cars were fast, said Diehl. His mother, Sylvia Vatter, lived in Louisville around 1918. Now 93, he said she remembered riding the interurban on its Jeffersontown line.
The ride was “smooth because they were heavy in comparison to other types of vehicles. They were fast because the trains were short and the locomotives were electric and accelerated much faster than steam engines.”
The interurban was not just a passenger electric train. Some lines also provided freight and cattle services ... Farmers could ship milk to Louisville creameries more quickly. If taken by regular train, there was no method of refrigeration and the milk would often heat as the railroad cars were being switched out ...
... In an era when the only other way to travel was by horse and buggy over unpaved, dusty roads, the interurban was a luxury to those who used it.
Calvert, 80, remembers riding the interurban to Camp Kavanaugh when he was a boy. “A round trip ticket to Louisville cost 60 cents. It meant a lot to Oldham County,” he said...
...Calvert said it was great for dairy farmers and their wives. It was now possible for the farmer’s wife to go to town, do her shopping, and still arrive home in time to fix dinner. The interurban could travel at speeds of “65 to 80 mph on the long runs such as Louisville to La Grange,” said Jack Diehl. Diehl has researched the interurban and written a column about it for the Division 8 National Model Railroad Association. In the city, they averaged 15-20 mph, said train enthusiast Charles Keeling of Louisville.
Keeling, 86, also rode the interurban, a ride that he compared to, “A rolling barn-with wheels on it.”
For the most part, the ride was smooth, and the cars were fast, said Diehl. His mother, Sylvia Vatter, lived in Louisville around 1918. Now 93, he said she remembered riding the interurban on its Jeffersontown line.
The ride was “smooth because they were heavy in comparison to other types of vehicles. They were fast because the trains were short and the locomotives were electric and accelerated much faster than steam engines.”
The interurban was not just a passenger electric train. Some lines also provided freight and cattle services ... Farmers could ship milk to Louisville creameries more quickly. If taken by regular train, there was no method of refrigeration and the milk would often heat as the railroad cars were being switched out ...
The interurban also made destination events possible. Kids today might have a party at a skating rink, laser tag establishment or indoor amusement park. In 1904, William N. Jurey's daughter Marguerite celebrated her 11th birthday with a "trolley party." About 50 guests were invited to ride to St. Matthews, eat lunch at Warwick Villa Park and return to Pewee Valley around 6:30 that evening to enjoy four hours of music and dancing at the family's Ashwood Avenue home. Trolleys were also rented for card parties.
An interurban railway car from the Louisville, Anchorage and Pewee Valley Railway. From Pewee Valley: Land of the Little Colonel" published in 1974 by Katie S. Smith
Lightning Strike Maroons Hundreds in 1911
While the interurban was usually reliable, mechanical problems occasionally interrupted service. On July 10, 1911, hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours when lightning struck the line's high tension wires. Passengers on the Anchorage, Pewee Valley and LaGrange cars were among those affected. The Courier-Journal reported the next day:
LIGHTNING TIES
UP INTERURBANS
____________________
Bolt Comes in Contact With
High-Tension Wires
________________________
Passengers Marooned All
Along Country Line
__________________________
Workmen with Ladders
Search for Break
_________________________
AUTOS PUT INTO SERVICE
Hundreds of people who boarded interurban cars in Louisville yesterday afternoon for their homes in the country and scores of others who started on a visit to the city from the suburbs were marooned out in the country for seven or eight hours as a result of a bolt of lightning striking one of the high-tension wires that feed the current to the cars operating on the LaGrange and Shelbyville divisions of the Louisville & Interurban Railway Company. The lightning bolt played havoc with these divisions. It struck somewhere between the stations at Beechwood and Anchorage. A force of twenty-five or thirty workmen, with lanterns, made no less than fifteen trips over the lines of the company looking for the trouble. Dozens of passengers on the marooned cars, after a wait of two or three hours in the country, telephoned to their homes for automobiles. Hundreds of others were compelled to remain on the cars and make the best of the situation. It was the worst blockade that has occurred on the company's lines in years.
The trouble was first reported at the main offices of the company in Louisville at about 5:45 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Every car on the line at the time the bolt struck came to a standstill...
...On the LaGrange division four cars, each carrying from thirty-five to fifty passengers, were tied up at different points along the line. The big LaGrange Limited, with forty men and women on board, stopped at Marcia.
After a wait of two hours it was found that a lighter car could be operated, and one of these was pressed into service, and the passengers from the limited given a slow ride to Anchorage, where they alighted with a sigh of relief....
...Four other cars on this division, however, were tied up all night, two just east of Buckner, one at Pewee Valley and one at Lakeland. Most of the passengers on these had no alternative but to make themselves comfortable as best they could on the cars...
...At 11:30 o'clock a telephone message was received here that another light car had started from the station at Marcia with all passengers who were delayed on the LaGrange division on board. They were taken off the cars that stopped at Lakeland, Buckner and Pewee Valley. This second light car, operated by the little power that could be furnished from the stations on the line and a very small amount of power from the stations in the city, managed to get past Pewee Valley. Mr. Wyatt expressed the belief that it would reach LaGrange...
Interurban Schedule June 19, 1913
Fatal Derailment in Anchorage in 1917
Though the interurban made getting around greater Louisville much more convenient, riding this early version of "high speed rail" could be hazardous to your health. Derailments happened and occasionally proved fatal, as the May 4, 1917 Courier-Journal reported:
CAR DERAILED;
ONE MAN DIES
____________
Eighteen Others Injured In
Interurban Wreck
____________
Boy Alone Escapes
Without Injury
____________
BRAKES FAILED TO WORK?
The dead:
Clem B. Johnson, 58 years old, of Crestwood, vice-president of Johnston Bros. Co., wholesale grocers, 719 W. Main street, died at Jewish Hospital at 12:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
The injured:
Miss Aline Duvall, 18 years old, student at Louisville Girls High School, daughter of W.T. Duvall, farmer near Crestwood; back wrenched, cut on cheek, severe nervous shock.
Leslie Drane, 30 years old, assistant cashier Crestwood State Bank; back wrenched and bruises about body. Taken to St. Anthony Hospital.
T.M. Murphy, of Crestwood, stock dealer at Sixteenth and Main streets; scalp torn, hip injured and fractured rib. Taken to St. Joseph's Infirmary.
Capt. Edward Matthews, 45 years old, teller for the United States Trust Company; fractured rib and shock. Taken home.
Ben Yates, 1506 E. Breckinridge street, substitute motorman; foot crushed, body bruises and face cut.
Matthew Collins, 27 years old, son of George Collins, farmer at Crestwood; hand cut.
Dave Brown, 60 years old, of Houston: left rib fractured, head and left hand cut. Attended by Dr. Theodore S. Jennings in Louisville and removed to his home.
Clem D. Johnston, 23 years old, of Crestwood, son of Clem B. Johnston, who was killed; face and hands cut.
O.E. Allen, 217 East Madison street, regular motorman; head and hand cut.
L.E. Wallace, 520 North Twenty-first street, conductor; hand cut.
Joseph Daily, painter, of Locust Lodge; leg cut and body bruises.
A.D. Scott, of Pewee Valley; hand cut.
Donald R. Jacob, of Pewee Valley, leg bruised.
H.H. Ainslie, employee Wathen Distilling Co.; slight scalp wound.
M.K. Allen, Pewee Valley, minor hurts.
E.T. Meriwether, of Pewee Valley, with Citizens National Bank; cuts and bruises.
Charles D. Ross, of Pewee Valley, member of Ross Seed Co.; finger crushed.
T.M. Gilmore, of Pewee Valley, president Model License League, cuts and bruises.
One man was fatally hurt and eighteen others were injured, several seriously, at 7:25 o'clock yesterday morning when inbound limited interurban car No. 108 of the Louisville & Interurban Railroad Co. derailed in turning a sharp curve and overturned 150 feet east of the Anchorage station. One passenger, Halpin Daily, 14 years old, who was with his father, John Daily, of Locust Lodge, escaped unhurt.
Clem B. Johnston, of Crestwood, vice president of Johnston Bros. & Co., wholesale grocers at 719 West Main street, dies at 12:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon of internal hurts and injuries to the head. Acting Coroner William T. Kammerer will hold an inquest next week.
The car was operated by Ben Yates, a new motorman. O.E. Allen, the regular motorman, who was directing Yates in running the car, said the accident resulted from failure of the brakes to act properly when applied.
Witnesses to the wreck stated that the car was going too fast to take the sharp curve.
The car left Crestwood at 7:15 o'clock and was due in Louisville at 8:02 o'clock. It was a limited, its schedule on the run from Crestwood to the city limits fifteen minutes less than the ordinary locals. It stopped at way stations between Crestwood and Anchorage, but was scheduled to make but one stop between Anchorage and Louisville, at St. Matthews. It was on time, being due at Anchorage at 7:26 o'clock.
The front trucks left the track as it swung onto Greenwood avenue in Anchorage. The front wheels crossed the road and struck a switch leading from the main tracks to the feed store and ice house of C.R. Russell and the coalhouse of Dave Bowser. This threw the car on its side. In toppling over the car crushed a fence and platform at the feed store, damaged the icehouse and landed against a large ash tree with such force that the center of the roof was crushed to the floor.
The rear trucks remained on the tracks. They were wrenched off from the body when the car overturned and rolled down the track below Anchorage station, a distance of more than 100 feet. Every window was shattered and many were cut by flying glass. The seats pulled loose from their fastenings and many were splintered.
The passengers were piled in a heap. Miss Aline Duvall, of Crestwood, a member of the first-term senior class of the Louisville Girls' High School, on her way to school, was the only woman passenger aboard. She was pinned beneath the ash tree and the floor of the car. Her spine was injured and she suffered a severe nervous shock that affected her heart.
Difficulty was experienced in extracting Miss Duvall. She was carried to an apartment over the grocery of Fanelli Bros., across the road, where she received medical attention. She is 18 years old and a daughter of W.T. Duvall, a farmer near Crestwood. Her parents were called to her bedside. Because of her highly nervous state she was not moved until noon. She was then conveyed in a private ambulance to her home.
Clem B. Johnston, the grocer, was seated in the middle of the car. His son, Clem D. Johnston, was in an opposite seat. The elder Johnston was not caught beneath heavy debris and was removed without trouble. He received first aid at the scene and was conveyed in an ambulance to the Jewish Hospital, his son, who had suffered cuts on the face and hands, accompanying him. Mr. Johnston was unconscious when taken from the wreck and revived for but a brief period. His wife and son, George Johnston, arrived at his bedside before his death.
*****
Near Previous Accident.
The accident occurred at a point 100 feet east of where a similar incident happened four years ago, in which a score of persons met with injuries. It was directly in front of the grocery of Fannelli Bros. R. J. Fannelli was a witness and the first person to reach the scene and assist in the rescue of the victims. James M. Morris, agent for the L&N at Anchorage, was attracted by the crash and ran to the wreck. The Rev. Charles Henry Prather, pastor of the Anchorage Presbyterian church, and the Rev. Peyton H. Hoge, of Pewee Valley, aided in the rescue work.
The vistims were taken to Fannelli's grocery. Miss Blanche Tucker, operator for the Home Telephone Company, whose exchange is located on the second floor of the Anchorage station, summoned Drs. R.B. Pryor and J.A. Freeman, of Crestwood; John Bedinger, E.D. Burnett and J.P. Winston, of Anchorage, and L.D. Mason and S.D. Weatherby, of Middletown, who dressed the wounds.
Those whose conditions were regarded as serious were conveyed in ambulances to local hospitals. Practically the entire population of the pretty little suburb turned out to give whatever service they could Automobiles were offered liberally and conveyed many of the injured to their homes. Others were able to come to the city or got to their homes on cars after their wounds had been dressed.
Dr. Ewing Marshall, surgeon of the company, went out on the 8 o'clack car, which was equipped with cots, stretchers and two trunks of surgical instruments, bandages and medicines.
Traffic was blockaded for several hours. Cars on either side of the wreck were operated to the scene and the passengers transferred.
*****
Eggs Not Broken
Jewelry and other articles were gathered up and turned over to F.L. Webb, interurban agent at Anchorage. Nothing of value was lost, so far as is known. Among the things picked up was a paper box containing eggs, several of which were not broken by the impact.
Conductor Wallace was on a rear seat. He said that when the car derailed he held firmly to the seat. He was not seriously hurt.
Leslie Drane and Matthew Collins, of Crestwood, were on their way to the Jefferson county armory to join the First Kentucky Regiment. They passed the physical examination Wednesday and were told to assume their duties as soldiers yesterday morning. Drane was taken to St. Anthony's Hospital. Collins accompanied him. It is expected that they will recover and be able to report for duty in a short time.
Dave Brown, of Houston, near Pewee Valley, was brought to Louisville on a car following the accident. He was attended by Dr. Theodore Jennings at the latter's office, after which he was taken to his home.
Clem D. Johnston, whose father was fatally hurt, returned a week ago from Fort Ogelthorpe, Ga., where he took an examination for a commission in the regular army. He is expecting to receive word in a few days whether he will be given a commission. His injuries, consisting of cuts and bruises, are not serious.
Clem B. Johnston, who was killed, was a native of Louisville, being a son of the late John Johnston, a wholesale grocer. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lula Johnston, two sons, Clem D. and George Johnston, and a daughter, Mrs. C.H. Wright of Norfolk, Va., and a brother, Charles W. Johnston, who was associated with him in business. He was a Knight Templar.
The body was taken to the home of his brother, 1325 South Brook street, where funeral services will be conducted later. Burial will be in Cave Hill cemetery.
A later photograph showing the interurban station's location to the right of Town Hall. The Fire Station was to the left. From "Pewee Valley: Land of the Little Colonel" published in 1974 by Katie S. Smith.
Fare Increase Protest in 1920
In 1920, Peweeans and many other suburbanites who relied on the interurban raised Cain when fares were increased to three cents a mile. Their protests were reported in the August 20, 1920 Courier-Journal:
Interurban Rates Raised
Without Authority of Rail-
road Commission.
Without permission of the State Railroad Commission, the Louisville & Interurban Railway yesterday ordered an increase in interurban fares, effective Wednesday.
Notices of the increases appeared late yesterday afternoon. Early last night, civic organizations of communities served by the interurban lines announced objections would be filed.
Under the order cash and single trip ticket rates will be based on 3 cents a mile. The sale of round trip tickets on cars will be discontinued, and all other ticket rates, such as business books, will be adjusted, it was announced.
Interurbanites announced they would take the fight before the Railroad Commission to prevent the proposed increase...
...Some interurban travelers objected to what they termed the "peremptory and dictatorial" order, with its advance notice of only three days...
...Delozier Moxley, Pewee Valley, and Kendrick R. Lewis, St. Helens, said that steps probably would be taken by inhabitants to go before the State Railroad Commission in protest against the increase.
"Since the railway company cannot get an increase in Louisville, they are attempting to get it on interurban lines," Mr. Moxley said. "The company apparently is attempting to make up the deficit in the city lines by increasing the profit on the suburban lines. It is unfair and unreasonable."
It was reported that there will be a protest meeting at O'Bannon Station tonight for residents of the neighborhood around O'Bannon and Pewee Valley. Steps probably will be taken to carry the protest to the railroad commission, it was said.
With Shelbyville, thirty-one miles away, the proposed rate would call for a fare of $.93 as compared to the present fare of $.77...
...The seven lines affected, with their present rates for a single one-way ticket. are: Orell, 34 cents; LaGrange, 67 cents; Shelbyville, 77 cents; Prospect, 25 cents; Okolona, 22 cents; Jeffersontown, 25 cents; and Fern Creek, 24 cents.
In 1920, Peweeans and many other suburbanites who relied on the interurban raised Cain when fares were increased to three cents a mile. Their protests were reported in the August 20, 1920 Courier-Journal:
Interurban Rates Raised
Without Authority of Rail-
road Commission.
Without permission of the State Railroad Commission, the Louisville & Interurban Railway yesterday ordered an increase in interurban fares, effective Wednesday.
Notices of the increases appeared late yesterday afternoon. Early last night, civic organizations of communities served by the interurban lines announced objections would be filed.
Under the order cash and single trip ticket rates will be based on 3 cents a mile. The sale of round trip tickets on cars will be discontinued, and all other ticket rates, such as business books, will be adjusted, it was announced.
Interurbanites announced they would take the fight before the Railroad Commission to prevent the proposed increase...
...Some interurban travelers objected to what they termed the "peremptory and dictatorial" order, with its advance notice of only three days...
...Delozier Moxley, Pewee Valley, and Kendrick R. Lewis, St. Helens, said that steps probably would be taken by inhabitants to go before the State Railroad Commission in protest against the increase.
"Since the railway company cannot get an increase in Louisville, they are attempting to get it on interurban lines," Mr. Moxley said. "The company apparently is attempting to make up the deficit in the city lines by increasing the profit on the suburban lines. It is unfair and unreasonable."
It was reported that there will be a protest meeting at O'Bannon Station tonight for residents of the neighborhood around O'Bannon and Pewee Valley. Steps probably will be taken to carry the protest to the railroad commission, it was said.
With Shelbyville, thirty-one miles away, the proposed rate would call for a fare of $.93 as compared to the present fare of $.77...
...The seven lines affected, with their present rates for a single one-way ticket. are: Orell, 34 cents; LaGrange, 67 cents; Shelbyville, 77 cents; Prospect, 25 cents; Okolona, 22 cents; Jeffersontown, 25 cents; and Fern Creek, 24 cents.
End of the Line in 1935
Though the interurban went through a series of financial difficulties, reorganizations and extensions to other small towns -- including LaGrange in 1907 -- it faithfully served the people of Pewee Valley for more than three decades. The Great Depression and competition from automobiles led to its eventual demise. Freight service ended in 1934 and passenger service to Pewee Valley ended August 10, 1935.
Remnants of the Interurban Turnaround on Mt. Mercy Drive in 2013 (L) and 2016 (R)
1929 Insurance Map Detail of the Interurban Turnaround
This portion of the insurance map shows the buildings along Railroad Avenue (now Mt. Mercy Drive) beside the Interurban Depot in 1929, as well as the turnaround. Note that there was still a jail behind Town Hall.
Related Links
