Last month, I headed southeast toward Troublesome Creek, a journey split between wide, improved sections of roadway and small, winding, narrow roads where trees hug the pavement and the road, creek, and nearby railroad all seem to converge. I was on the latter section of road when the normal vistas shifted, and an interesting collection of buildings emerged.
Lackey, in Floyd County, Kentucky, as seen on the 1915 Hindman, Kentucky 15-minute quadrangle map.
Lackey is located in southwest Floyd County, near the Knott County line. More specifically, this small community sits at the intersection of Kentucky Routes 7 and 80, and at the mouth of Jones Fork of Right Beaver Creek (a more lyrical joining of tributaries I’ve never heard).
A post office was established on March 2, 1880, and named for Virginia native Alexander Lackey, who settled near Martin, Kentucky (about 10 miles northeast of Lackey) in 1808.
The Lackey post office, seen here through late winter brush, is still in operation. A circa 1978 image of the post office can be seen here.
The post office is a small, front gable, frame building, and not one of the two buildings that immediately caught my attention. That honor belongs to two imposing structures, neither of which appear occupied.
This stone building, seen from the corner of my eye, prompted me to pull off of the road.
A 2.5 story hipped roof stone building, its windows askew, sheets of plastic blowing desolately in a February breeze, stood with monumental presence on the north side of Route 7. This building was originally Slone’s Service Station and Grocery, built and operated by Hobert and Mable Slone.
The first floor of the stone building is six bays wide, with garage door openings at either end, and in the central portion of the facade, a window/door/window/door fenestration arrangement. Four sets of paired windows on the second story, most retaining what must be the original wood 2/2 double-hung sash, are arranged to either side of one centrally placed door. The portico that was surely once in front of this doorway is long since gone, though evidence remains of its existence. Front gable dormers light at least three elevations on the attic level of the building.
There were no signs, and no ephemera scattered about to reveal the original function of the building – mixed use certainly, with a business on the first floor, and residential quarters on the second and third floors. If the day hadn’t stretched out in front of me, with my real work still an hour or so down the road (and then the long drive back home), I would have popped into the post office and simply asked. But conscious of the time, I merely took my photos and got back in the car.
The frame building on the south side of the road.
Another two story building on the south side of the road beckoned, also looking like it would have been a store/dwelling originally. It wasn’t until later that I started to wonder whether I had been looking at the facade or rear elevation of the building.
The arrow points to what is possibly the “true” facade of this building, facing the railroad.
What was once the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (now CSX) runs on the south side of Route 7, and is still an active line. A parapet wall visible in the photo above suggests that this building has a storefront that addresses the railroad, not the road I was traveling.
According to several sources I consulted, the passenger train station in Lackey is still standing – but invisible to me from my location on the other side of the tracks.
Aerial view of Lackey.
Coal mining was the main industry in Floyd County in the first half of the 20th century. A report in the trade publication The Iron Age in 1921 reported that a power plant was being planned for Lackey by the Porter Mining Company out of Ashland, Kentucky.
A library comes to Lackey.
In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration brought roads, bridges, and buildings to Eastern Kentucky – and books. The illiteracy rate in Eastern Kentucky hovered around 30 percent in 1930, and the Pack Horse Library Project and its “book women” tackled the rugged topography by bringing books to small communities -like Lackey – by horses or mules.
There wasn’t much history available about Lackey available through my typical venues – so if anyone out there recognizes these buildings and has some history to share, please pass it along! And if I head down that way again, I’ll make sure to explore on both sides of the railroad tracks.
The first building is the post office which has been there since before I was born. The second picture is the service station that my grand parents owned and ran until my grandfather’s death 30 years ago. It is now owned by my cousins who inherited it from their parents. Their father, my uncle Phillip owned the building and ran a business out of it until he passed. The second and third floors are living space that has been home to many of my family members. The third picture is of the old Watkins dry goods store. It is still family owned and has a full apartment on the second floor.
The 2 1/2 story building was a gas station ran by my grandfather. My grandma and grandpa lived on the second floor. When they had kids at home (10) they slept on the third floor too. My cousins and I have such great memories in that place! One of my cousins is going to renovate the building.
The stone building was Hobert Slone’s Service Station.
Good evening, I grew up in lackey and know all these buildings and there history. The stone building was Slone’s service station and grocery built in the mid to late 1940 by Hobert and mable Slone. The Slone’s lived above the service station until the eairly 80’s the white building was Watkins dry goods/ clothing store. Owned by clove and reg Watkins. The original post office sat behind my Grandmothers grocery store “Collins grocery” Across the tracks. The train depot burned down in the late 1990’s it was located next to the white building. If you give me your information I can put you in touch with my brother who still lives there and is the family historian
Actually, the building was not constructed by the Slone family, though they still own it. I know the current owners of the building, who are doing research into the ownership as a part of their renovation project. Please reach out to them at the email attached to this comment with any questions regarding this building.
This is my hometown! I grew up here! My great grandma lived in the White House you have pictured. My entire family grew up there!
Thought i would let you know my family owns that garage building. It’s actually 3 stories. It was an old bordello supossedly and then my family bought it. It was a service station for many years. We used to live there. It’s been way worn down for a while. 🙂 Thank you for sharing it with others.
Bordello? Wow that’s something I’ve never heard. If you have a copy of any family history, I would love to get a copy for oldest son, a history buff.
Hobert and Mabel were my grandparents.
That’s what mom says it was rumored to be before it was bought. Like, i said rumored.
There is no historical evidence that the building was ever a bordello, this is totally inaccurate. Again, historical research is being conducted as part of the renovation and no record of anything of this sort can be found.
In 1948, Mary Napier owned and operated this building. Our family lived in a rented house behind the building and directly below Lackey Freewill Baptist Church. My father worked there for Mary as a mechanic. My family’s life was turned completely upside down by an event which took place there. Feel free to contact me if you would like more details.