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Boone Way
Marker Number 1644
County Rockcastle
Location Mt. Vernon, Courthouse lawn, US 25
Description The 96-mile stretch of road from Crab Orchard to Cumberland Gap was known as the Boone Way. Colonel James Maret, an early advocate of road improvement, was responsible for cutting of roadbed and its first paving. As L & N railroad agent and telegraph operator in Mt. Vernon, Maret developed a concern for road conditions. Highway was in use by 1918; the Boone Way became US 25.

(Reverse) Col. James Maret (1855-1936) - Born in Garrard Co., Maret came here in 1877. He established this county's first telephone exchange and newspaper; was town clerk for 25 years. Maret served as executive secretary of Kentucky's Good Roads Association, and in 1929 published a routing guide, listing over 1200 points in U.S. and Canada. He died in Old Masonic Home, Shelbyville; buried Elmwood Cem., Mt. Vernon.
Subjects Cemeteries , Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Carlisle Passenger Depot
Marker Number 1764
County Nicholas
Location 101 Market St., Carlisle
Description Built in 1912 by L & N soon after original frame depot burned. The Lexington and Maysville Railroad was completed to Carlisle by 1871; railroad joined L & N system, 1891. Land donated for depot by thirteen citizens and businesses in 1882. Depot purchased in 1978 by Nicholas Co. Historical Society and listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Renovated 1981.
Subjects Louisville and Nashville Railroad , National Register of Historic Places , Railroads
Century of Coal Mining
Marker Number 1338
County Hopkins
Location Earlington, US 41-A & KY 112
Description Earlington founded in 1870 by St. Bernard Coal Co. Named for John Baylis Earle, who discovered No. 11 coal vein not far from this site, in 1869. John Bond Atkinson, the president of St. Bernard Coal, planned free public schools, free public library, Loch Mary Reservoir, an arboretum, home and church sites. In 1870, L & N Railroad began coal shipments from this area.
Subjects Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Edgewood
Marker Number 1101
County Nelson
Location 5th St. at site of home, Bardstown, US 31-E, 150
Description Right wing built, 1815, main part, 1819, by Ben Hardin, noted lawyer, statesman, member Kentucky Legislature and U.S. Congress. Hardin born in Penn., 1784; his daughter married John L. Helm, twice Ky. Governor and President L&N R.R. Their son Ben Hardin Helm, CSA Gen., born here, 1831, married Emilie Todd, sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of 16th U.S. President. See over.

(Reverse) Edgewood - General Leonidas Polk used this as headquarters during Confederate occupation of Bardstown. Barbecues here in the 1840's brought Henry Clay, Judge John Rowan and John J. Crittenden as speakers. Other notable visitors included Cassius M. Clay, Gen. William Preston, Felix Grundy, Jesse Bledsoe. In rear of place is site of famous Rowan-Chambers 1801 duel. See over.
Subjects Clay, Cassius M. , Clay, Henry , Crittenden, John J. , Duels , Lincoln, Mary Todd , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Polk, Leonidas K.
Elizabethtown Battle
Marker Number 1116
County Hardin
Location Elizabethtown, at Cemetery, US 31-W, 62
Description Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan on his second raid into Kentucky, with 3,900 men, was met by 652 Union troops under Lt. Col. H. S. Smith, Dec. 27, 1862. Object of raid was destruction of L&N R.R., main artery for USA troop movement south. Morgan surrounded town and placed artillery on the cemetery hill. Elizabethtown garrison was destroyed. Federals surrendered.
Subjects Civil War , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Morgan, John Hunt
Frankfort Union Station
Marker Number 1955
County Franklin
Location Broadway & High St., Frankfort
Description Built by Louisville & Nashville R.R., 1908, to replace depot located here by Lexington & Frankfort R.R. in 1850s. Present station was used by Chesapeake & Ohio, Louisville & Nashville, Frankfort & Cincinnati, and Kentucky Highlands. The last scheduled passenger train was C&O George Washington, April 30, 1971. Presented by Ky. Assoc. of Highway Contractors.

(Reverse) Early Tunnel in Kentucky - Early transportation tunnel in Kentucky. It was hand bored by Lexington and Frankfort Railroad in 1849. First passenger train went through on February 23, 1850. Replaced incline, built 1835 just east of here, previously used by railroad to enter Frankfort. Incline built by Lexington & Ohio, the first railroad in Kentucky. Presented by CSX Transportation.
Subjects Frankfort , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Railroads
Hawesville Railroad Station
Marker Number 1856
County Hancock
Location Hancock Co. Mus., Water St., Hawesville
Description Rails of Louisville, St. Louis, and Texas Railroad laid here June 9, 1888. First passenger train ran between Owensboro and Stephensport Oct. 7, 1888. Service between Evansville and Louisville began in April 1889. Rail line later became Louisville, Henderson, St. Louis R.R. and then part of L&N system in 1929. See over. Presented by National-Southwire Aluminum Co.

(Reverse) Hawesville Railroad Station - Present station constructed 1902; additions made ca. 1919. During heyday, six L&N trains stopped here daily. Embarkation point for Army troops during World War I. Pres. Harry S. Truman spoke here during an election campaign whistlestop, Sept. 30, 1948. Local passenger service ended in the late 1950s. See over. Presented by National-Southwire Aluminum Co.
Subjects Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Railroads , Truman, Harry S. , World War I
James Guthrie (1792-1869)
Marker Number 1883
County Nelson
Location City Hall, Railroad St., Bloomfield
Description Guthrie-lawyer, statesman, and financier-became a noted leader interested in both the development of resources and politics. In Gen. Assembly he promoted legislation for Bank of Kentucky and framed its charter. Guthrie strongly advocated railroad construction. During Civil War, he was conservative Unionist. As L&N pres., he placed railroad in service of U.S. government. Over.

(Reverse) James Guthrie (1792-1869) - This railroad promoter and U.S. Secretary of Treasury was born near Bloomfield. Appointed, at age 28, Commonwealth's Attorney by Governor Adair. He represented Jefferson Co. and Louisville in General Assembly, 1827-40. Guthrie served as president of Kentucky Constitutional Conv., 1849; as U.S. Treasurer, 1853-57, under Pierce; and in U.S. Senate, 1865-68. Over.
Subjects Constitutional Convention (1849) , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Railroads
James Guthrie (1792-1869)
Marker Number 1994
County Jefferson
Location Louisville, 4th & Guthrie
Description This statesman and entrepreneur fostered Louisville's growth from small town in 1810 to nation's 10th largest city in 1850. Promoted building of Portland Canal and the first R.R. bridge over Ohio River. As president of the University of Louisville, he established its Medical College and Academic Dept. Presented by Clan Guthrie-USA.

(Reverse) James Guthrie (1792-1869) - Guthrie served in the state legislature, 1827-40. In 1849 he presided over the third Kentucky Constitutional Convention. Pres. Franklin Pierce named him Secretary of U.S. Treasury, 1853-57. As president of L & N Railroad, 1860 to 1868, he was instrumental in keeping Ky. in Union during Civil War. He was U.S. senator, 1865-68. Presented by Clan Guthrie-USA.
Subjects Civil War , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Ohio River , Schools , University of Louisville
John Larue Helm, 1802-1867
Marker Number 1912
County Hardin
Location Elizabethtown, Jct. US 31-W & KY 447
Description This Hardin Co. native was one of Kentucky's most celebrated lawyers. In legislature 17 yrs.; rose to House Speaker. Elected lt. gov., he became gov. when John J. Crittenden resigned, 1850. Pres. of L&N R.R., 1854-60, when railroad completed. A harsh critic of Pres. Lincoln, Helm favored neutrality for Ky. in the Civil War. Elected gov., 1867. Died after five days in office.
Subjects Civil War , Crittenden, John J. , Lincoln, Abraham , Louisville and Nashville Railroad
L & N Bridge in Civil War
Marker Number 1296
County Bullitt
Location KY 61 at crossing of Salt River, near Shepherdsville
Description Destroyed three times by CSA. Partially razed on Sept. 7, 1862, by troops under Col. John Hutcheson. During the occupation of Shepherdsville, Sept. 28, Braxton Bragg's troops again destroyed it, but new bridge was up by Oct. 11. After Battle of Elizabethtown, Dec. 27, John Hunt Morgan's men moved along tracks, destroying everything on way to trestle works at Muldraugh's Hill.
Subjects Bragg, Braxton , Civil War , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Morgan, John Hunt , Railroads
L&N Steam Engine 152
Marker Number 2200
County Nelson
Location Railway Museum (next to track & station), New Haven
Description The "Official State Locomotive of Kentucky," Rogers Works of NJ built this 4-6-2 Light Pacific in Oct. 1905. Was donated to KY Railway Museum by the Louisville & Nashville RR in 1954 and was resrored and put back in service in 1985. Engine reportedly pulled trains of presidents Roosevelt, Hoover, & Truman and prison train of gangster Al Capone.

(Reverse) On the National Register of Historic Places, Engine 152 ran on the Louisville & Nashville RR (L&N), including the Lebanon Branch through New Haven. Also ran between Mobile and New Orleans & hauled coal during the 1920s coal boom in E.KY. It runs as one of the last surviving L&N steam engines in the world.
Subjects Coal , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , National Register of Historic Places
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Marker Number 1350
County Jefferson
Location 10th and Broadway, Louisville
Description Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly, March 5, 1850. First track was laid near here in July, 1855. First train ran in August, 1855. First passenger station dedicated at 9th and Broadway in 1858. From it in 1859 ran first through train from Louisville to Nashville. During Civil War L & N was Western sector's only North-South rail link, a vital part of Union supply route. Used by Generals Grant and Sherman to move men and supplies as Union rolled deeper into South. It was prime target for marauding Confederate units. Gen. John Hunt Morgan raided extensively along its tracks and bridges. But despite difficulties the railroad continued to operate.

(Reverse) L & N Expansion

First Train

  • 1859: Louisville to Nashville (Map showing 1867 Memphis expansion)
  • 1872: Birmingham, Montgomery
  • 1880: New Orleans, St. Louis, Pensacola, Mobile
  • 1881: Cincinnati
  • 1902: Knoxville
  • 1905: Atlanta
  • 1957: Paducah, Chattanooga
  • 1969: Chicago
Subjects Civil War , Grant, Ulysses S. , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Morgan, John Hunt , Sherman, William T.
Macklin House
Marker Number 1925
County Franklin
Location 212 Washington St., Frankfort
Description This townhouse, built ca. 1850, became home of George B. Macklin, prominent land owner and coal dealer. He came in 1867 from Forks of Elkhorn area. His coal yard near L&N R.R bridge. Two-story brick carriage house at rear, one of few in county, built about same time. Blacksmith shop here also. In Corner of Celebrities Hist. Dist. Presented by John C. Ryan and Donald Duff.
Subjects Coal , Frankfort , Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Old Stagecoach Stop
Marker Number 1573
County Warren
Location US 31-W, 8 mi. NE of Bowling Green
Description Built in 1841 by Samuel Murrell, this house was a well-known inn and stagecoach stop on Louisville-Nashville road until the L&N Railroad was completed in 1859. This property previously belonged to Susannah Henry Madison, wife of General Thomas Madison and sister of Patrick Henry. She was buried here and was later moved to a cemetery in Smiths Grove.
Subjects Henry, Patrick , Inns , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Stagecoach Stops
The Shaker Tavern
Marker Number 716
County Logan
Location South Union, KY 73
Description Built 1869, nine years after the completion of the Louisville and Nashville railroad thru South Union land. Members approved tax to build line thru here, furnished material and constructed depot. Visitors increased and trustees built the hotel, replacing use of frame office building, center of village. One outside chimney for three fireplaces, unique feature.
Subjects Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Shakers
Union Station
Marker Number 1746
County Daviess
Location 1035 Frederica, US 431, Owensboro
Description Built 1905-6, on site of the Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis depot. It represents an agreement between the Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis; the Louisville and Nashville; and the Illinois Central railroads to provide Union Station for Owensboro. The plans were drawn by John B. Hutchings and Henry F. Hawes; contractor, Walter Brashear.
Subjects Architects , Louisville and Nashville Railroad , Railroads
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