Transportation and Mail Service in the Early Days

Transportation and Mail Service in the Early Days

            In pioneer days in Ohio County (1790’s to about 1850) transportation was limited to walking, horse-back, wagon or river travel. Most pioneer families owned at least one horse or mule as these animals were also used to pull stumps and other farm labor, and also to pull farm wagons.  Almost all of the settlers in the region were small farmers using two or three horses or mules, working to raise five to ten cattle and grow corn.  Tobacco, wheat, hemp and flax were other crops in Ohio County.  Corn was ground into meal and also fed to hogs or distilled into whiskey.  About ¼ of the settlers owned no cattle, horses or mules.  Pioneers thought nothing of walking a few miles.  River travel on the Green River and Rough River was by flat-boat, keelboat or canoe.  As early as 1827 flatboat owners were hauling tobacco and other agricultural products, and passengers, up and down the Green River for a fee.  Floating with the current was easy but against the current was a problem.  The first known ferry operations across the Green River began in the early 1800’s near Cromwell and was called Borah’s Ferry.  We can assume that most people traveled very little during the very early years.

STEAMBOATS:

            Kentucky is blessed with rivers. No other state except Alaska has as many miles of navigable streams.  The Green River never leaves Kentucky and is the longest river entirely within the state.  The Navigator, printed as a guide for river pilots in 1814, reported that the Green River “wound through a most fertile valley and had a better range for cattle and hogs than any other part of Kentucky.”  The Green River is unusually deep and has been reported to be the deepest little river in the United States. The terminus of the Green River is the Ohio River, near Evansville.  The Rough River runs through Hartford, and is the second largest tributary to the Green River; it starts in Hardin County and flows westerly through Ohio County to the Green at Livermore. It has an average depth of 15 to 25 feet but has several places where the depth decreases to less than 7 feet.  The distance (on the river) from Hartford to Livermore is about 30 miles.  Steamboats were able to navigate the Rough River to and from Hartford. 

           Here is a portion of John Filson’s map of the Green River drawn in 1784.

          Steamboats first appeared on the Ohio River in the 1820’s and became more frequent in the 1840’s.  Steamboats first appeared on the Green River about 1828 and during the 1830’s improvements were started on the Green, such as locks and dams, to facilitate steamboat operations.  These improvements were completed by 1842 at a cost of almost $900,000. The projects were numbered consecutively, beginning at the Ohio River. Number 1 was at Spottsville, Number 2 near Calhoun, with five projects in all. By 1847 five steamboats were operating on the Green River for passengers and commercial purposes and these boats went all the way to Bowling Green. The steamboats brought goods and groceries in and took lumber and farm commodities out, and carried passengers both ways.  Citizens from Ohio County could travel by steamboat to Evansville (on the Ohio) and then transfer to another steamboat upriver or downriver to cities such as St. Louis or New Orleans.  Important shipping points in Ohio County were Ceralvo, Rockport, and Cromwell.  The Rough River, which runs through Hartford, is the second largest tributary to the Green River; it starts in Hardin County and flows westerly through Ohio County to the Green at Livermore. It has an average depth of 15 to 25 feet but has several places where the depth decreases to less than 7 feet.  The distance (on the river) from Hartford to Livermore, where it meets the Green, is about 30 miles.  Steamboats were able to navigate the Rough River to and from Hartford.  Iron ore was discovered in the area in the early 1800’s and although the first few ventures failed, a Scotsman built an iron ore furnace near Paradise, KY in 1855, just 50 yards from the Green River.  Coal was mined as early as the 1830’s.  The terminus of the Green River is near Evansville, Indiana and that town became an important trading town for Ohio County citizens.

            The first Green River steamboat, the McLean, reached Bowling Green on January 26, 1828.  These boats not only carried passengers but also brought precious groceries and commodities to the towns up and down the Green River and carried lumber and farm products from river communities to Evansville and beyond.  The operation of a steamboat was very profitable.  Eventually “showboats” became popular up and down the Green.  The river was blocked by the Union Army for several years during the Civil War (roughly Feb 1862-1865).  This closure of the river caused economic hardship in Ohio County causing several businesses to fail.  Following the war steamboats reappeared but the emergence of the railroads dampened the steamboats’ revenue and steamboats ultimately stopped serving the Green River communities about 1931; the Rosa Belle, according to the Hartford Herald, stopped running in 1885 “for want of sufficient patronage.”  The demise of the steamboat caused several small towns to lose their reason for existence, such as paradise, KY.  The last steamboats to travel the Green River were named the Bowling Green and the Evansville.  The railroad and the automobile (and trucks, of course) ultimately replaced the steamboats.  Coal shipment on the Green River did not begin until the 1950’s.

STAGECOACHES:          

            In other parts of Kentucky, east of Ohio County, stagecoaches became popular for passenger travel. In the book, Stage-coach Days in the Bluegrass, by J. Winston Coleman, Jr., which is an account of stagecoach travel in Lexington and central Kentucky during 1800 to 1900, the author explains that regular stagecoach lines were established in central Kentucky during the early 1800’s, and was the principle mode of travel until 1852 when the railroads appeared.  The last stagecoach operating out of Lexington closed in 1889.  Roads were improved in the 1830’s and 1840’s by individuals who charged a toll for their use.  Stagecoaches ran from Lexington to Frankfort, Louisville, Maysville,  and as far as Cincinnati by 1818.  By 1824 a person could ride from Lexington to Washington by stage in six days.  By 1834 there were stagecoach routes from Lexington in every direction and smaller stage lines were running “local” routes in central Kentucky, although towns in western Kentucky were not connected to any of these lines. A line from Lexington went as far south as Nashville by the 1840’s.  It is said that the roads in the vicinity of Lexington were the best in the state.  The first six miles of railroad line was completed in the Lexington area during 1833 and by 1835 the line was completed from Lexington to Frankfort. Of course railroads were in their infancy and suffered from problems with breakdowns and accidents for the first ten years of operation, so stage-coaches were still the most important method for travel. But by the 1850’s the railroad companies had improved their service to the point that the future of the stagecoach business was dim; however, there was only 175 miles of track in Kentucky by 1860 so stage-coaches continued to operate on a lesser scale until the 1890’s when more track had been installed.

Below are the average times the Stagecoach would take to travel within Kentucky:

.                      •Lexington to Frankfort → 4 hours

.                      •Lexington to Louisville→ 11 hours

.                      •Lexington to Covington→ 11 hours

.                      •Lexington to Paris→ 2 hours

.                      •Louisville to Nashville→ 33 hours

            •Louisville to Frankfort→ 7 hours

1870’s near Lexington, Kentucky:

            For about sixty years, 1800 to 1860, the stagecoach served as the main mode of transportation in some areas, but stagecoaches did not appear in Ohio County because they would not have been profitable and the roads were not suitable. But stagecoaches delivered goods, mail, and passengers to cities and towns throughout the eastern United States and later out west. Up to nine people, including the driver, could fit in the larger coaches, and some trips could take days or even weeks to reach their destination. Stagecoaches could travel at about ten miles per hour.  Riding horseback was much faster, but one could not carry nearly as much cargo. Riding in a coach was much different than our experience riding in cars today.  Coaches could not have glass windows, as the rocky and rough roads would have broken them. Leather shades on the windows would block sunlight, but dust, heat and cold would make the trip very unpleasant. Also, the lack of seat belts would cause you to bump into the person seated next to you constantly.  Windows lacked protection except for a piece of leather. Because of this, you would get cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and wet during storms.  Many times the stagecoach would get stuck in the mud and the passengers would have to get out and push the coach out of the mud. 

            What is the difference between a carriage and a stagecoach? A stagecoach is meant for long trips and are generally more rugged and stronger than carriages. Carriages have thinner wheels and are primarily meant for travel within a town or city, such as a trip to the grocery store.  Think of the tires of a mountain bike versus a street bike. The mountain bike has thicker tires and is more durable.

MAIL DELIVERY: 

            In the early days people from Ohio County simply handed mail to friends or strangers who intended to travel back to Virginia or Maryland and hoped that their letter would eventually be delivered – it was a hap-hazard and very slow way to communicate but worked fairly well.  Although there was some official postal service in early colonial days, it was limited to the New England states. Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737, and at that time it could take two weeks for a letter to travel from New York to Philadelphia. Following the Revolutionary War the pioneer era began as people started moving into new territories such as Kentucky; of course there was no mail delivery system and people just asked friends, traders and strangers who happened to be traveling to deliver letters for them. In 1792 Congress passed an act establishing post offices and post roads within the United States. In 1806 a stagecoach/mail-coach was established from Pittsburg to Lexington, KY, a distance of approximately 700 miles, and took about 15 days each way. All mail from Kentucky came through Lexington, except the mail that came by steamboat down the Ohio River. The Post Office Department operated stagecoaches in the northeast part of America. As early as 1813 steam boats were used to carry mail from one town to another but ponies and stage coaches (or mail coaches) were also in use. My guess is that because of the proximity to the Green River Ohio County citizens received mail via steam boats from about 1820 until the railroad came in the 1860’s.  Owensboro started receiving mail by stagecoach by 1820 and this stagecoach came from Louisville – I do not know if this was any benefit to people from Ohio County.   In 1838 Congress passed an act making railroads the preferred mail post routes. These deliveries were to a post office in a town and people had to go to their post office to pick up or to drop off mail to be sent out.  In 1865 a law was passed giving cities with a population of 50,000 or more free mail delivery.  This was expanded in 1873 to all places having a population of 20,000 or more.  Star Routes were established after the city delivery system and Star Routes were for towns that not near a railroad; so under this system the post office advertised for bids for carriers from the railroad drop-off to the city, and the carrier would distribute and pick up mail to people that lived along the route, at least to those that erected a mail box.  Some rural areas had private mail delivery but I have not found any evidence of that in Ohio County. Free mail delivery in rural areas of Kentucky (and the rest of the States) was not started until 1899 and did not spread slowly across the entire state beginning in 1902 through about 1918.  The term RFD stands for Rural Free Delivery.  I found an article in the Owensboro newspaper, the Inquirer, dated Friday, January 20, 1899, which stated: “Stage Line Abandoned. The roads are so bad between Owensboro and Hartford that the stage line has been abandoned, and the mail is now carried on horseback. It is said to be impossible for two horses to pull an empty wagon on some parts of the road.”

RAILROADS:

            Railroads changed everything for travel and mail for Ohio County.  We know that the first rail line to serve Ohio County was a line from Elizabethtown to Paducah, which was built in the early 1860’s.  This line was eventually purchased by the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). We also know that from time-to-time there were private rail lines, or “short lines” that operated within the county, often operating as “feeder” lines to the main lines, and most of these were related to the coal mines. Railroads began serving Beaver Dam about 1870 and one article states that the community of Beaver Dam “sprang up” because the railroad company placed a station at Beaver Dam (and not at Hartford).* I found a map dated 1859 that did not show any rail lines in Ohio County; the first map that did show rail lines in Ohio County is dated 1865.  Note that the first map below does not show a rail line through Hartford and does not show a community named Beaver Dam but Beaver Dam is shown on the 1874 map.  There is an article in the 28 April 1899 issue of the Hartford Republican about the need for rail service to Hartford.  Eventually a rail line ran through Hartford (Madisonville to Henderson) but this line was not established until about April 1910.  I think the line that ran through Hartford was owned by the M. H. & E. Railroad Company (thought to be Madisonville, Hartford & Eastern Railroad Company – see article in the 18 Jun 1909 issue of the Hartford Republican) which was later was merged with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N).  Also, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad System might have served Ohio County at one time and that company was merged with the L & N Railroad Company.  Of course the railroads caused the eventual death of the steamships. Actually, the railroads and the riverboats competed for a few decades but the railroads won the battle.  Note on the 1865 map below that Beaver Dam is not shown but is shown on the 1874 map.

A newspaper advertisement from 1910 for the IC Railroad.

1865 map showing rail line but the only depot shown in Ohio County is Rockport. The rail line is called “E & P RR” which stood for “Elizabethtown and Paducah RR.”

1874 map showing depots at Horse Branch, Pigeon Roost, Elm Lick, Beaver Dam, and Rockport.  Line was called “Elizabethtown and Paducah RR” and I think the numbers are distances between the depots expressed in miles.

1876 map showing depots at Horse Branch, Rosine, Elm Lick, Beaver Dam, Hamilton, McHenry, and Rockport.  Line was called “Paducah and Southwestern RR.”

1880 map showing depots at Horse Branch, Rosine, Elm Lick, Beaver Dam, McHenry, and Rockport.  The line was called “Paducah and Elizabethtown RR.”

1870’s to the 1930’s:

            A man named John S. Vaught operated a stage coach between the railroad depot in Beaver Dam and Hartford in the late 1870’s – he would carry passengers back and forth for a fee and he also carried the mail from the depot to the post office in Hartford. I suspect that the Vaught Stagecoach was the first stagecoach to operate in Ohio County. There are advertisements in the Hartford Herald for Vaught & Hudson Stagecoach and starting in September 1875 for the Vaught Stagecoach.  In the 30 June 1899 issue of the Hartford Republican there is an advertisement by Henry Field & Son for passenger transfer from Beaver Dam to Hartford on a horse-drawn vehicle called an “Omnibus.”  I suspect these stagecoaches operated until a rail line came through Hartford, which was about 1910.

            The first rail service from Ohio County to Owensboro is traced to the Owensboro, Falls of Rough & Green River Railroad, Inc. That company was incorporated in Owensboro in September 1887 by Lafe Green, Capt. R. S. Triplett, J. D. Powers, D. M. Griffith, S. M. Dean, M. V. Monarch, W. J. Dean and R. G. Robertson, Sam E. Hill, J. F. Bennett and a Mr. Woosley. The company entered receivership in 1884 and in May 1897 was acquired by the Illinois Central Railroad.

            One oddity is that there were three railroad depots in Owensboro, one owned by The Owensboro & Nashville RR, one by the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis RR, and one by the Illinois central RR – these depots were several blocks apart which made it difficult for passengers to change trains.  It remained this way until 1906.

            The earliest recorded Owensboro intercity passenger services was started by Frank Rice back in 1873. His Owensboro & Hartford Stage Line ran until January 1885 when he sold it to C. C. Bennett of Beda, Ohio County: “Mr. Rice was engaged for twelve years in making these tri-weekly round trips, amounting to 180 miles per week, or 9, 360 per year, or 112,320 for the twelve years. During this time he used only two mule teams and had three wagons.” Sam Sharpe had been operating the Owensboro & Hartford Stage Line for a number of years when he discontinued service in October 1907.

            In April 1916 the Owensboro Motor Car Company made its first “auto bus” trip between Owensboro and Hartford-Beaver Dam, thereafter making two round trips daily. (Keep in mind that back then a “motor bus,” or “auto-bus,” was often a large touring car.) O. C. Williams was the owner/manager of the company. An interesting glimpse of intercity bus travel was printed on page 3 of the Thursday evening Owensboro Inquirer for April 27, 1916: 

On its first trip out of Owensboro the Owensboro Motor Car company, which is operating the line, sent a crew of men out to work the roads at such places as were made difficult of passage by the rains and heavy hauling of the winter months. O. C. Williams, manager of the concern, headed the crew, of workers and when he was hauled back into Owensboro in the evening, on the return trip of the bus, the coating of mud that covered him from head to foot was real evidence that some road work had been done on the Hartford road. Holes were filled, brush cleared away and bumps cut out. Mr. Williams . . . says he can guarantee the road now to be in first class shape and that his company is going to make itself an auxiliary of the road working department of Daviess and Ohio counties and help keep all the roads it uses in good shape. He would like to have the cooperation too of the people who live along the road, and not the kind that he says was given in one instance yesterday, when a road had been cleared to the right of a large stump that stands in the middle of the road between Owensboro and Hartford. On the left of this stump was a large mud hole, so forbidding looking that the workers thought it would be easier to clear a new road to the right of the stump than to fill up the hole. This was done. On the return trip it was discovered that someone had felled a large tree across the new bit of road. Axes were again called into use and the obstruction removed.

            May 1917 saw Owensboro Interurban Lines, Inc. running two round trips daily between Owensboro and Hartford. J. N. Cecil Bus Line was based in St. Joseph, Daviess County, Kentucky in 1917 and served West Louisville and Owensboro. Three buses per day left St. Joseph with its terminus at the courthouse in Owensboro, from whence it made a return trip.

            In 1924 Tony Hansford operated his Grey Goose Bus Line between Owensboro and Hartford. It also served Pleasant Ridge and Masonville and Buford, and during the late 1920’s the Owensboro & Beaver Dam Bus Line, owned by F. T. Wright, and the Hartford-Beaver Dam Bus Line provided passenger service between Hartford and Owensboro.  About 1928 the Greyhound Bus Line started serving Owensboro and neighboring towns such as Hartford and Beaver Dam. Another bus line was the Owensboro-Bowling Green Bus Line, which was founded in 1932 by Joseph T. Fuqua (1913-2006). The line served Hartford, Beaver Dam, Morgantown and Bowling Green.  By 1932 F. T. Wright had changed the name of his Owensboro & Beaver Dam Bus Line to Gray Goose Bus Line, which operated between Owensboro and Bowling Green, Morgantown, Beaver Dam and Hartford.

* Note that a Baptist Church was built in Beaver Dam in March, 1798, so the town predated the first railroad depot.

Sources:

Owensboro History by Darrell Conder

Stagecoach Days in the Bluegrass, by John Winston Coleman  pub 1935

Green River Steamboating - a Cultural History, 1828-1931, by Helen Bartter Crocker pub 1970