The Olive Hill Railroad Depot, Carter County, Kentucky

The construction of road and railroads tends to mark important milestones in the development of Kentucky communities. The Elizabethtown, Lexington, and Big Sandy Railroad (later to become the Chesapeake and Ohio, or C&O) propelled the growth of many towns, including Olive Hill in Carter County. The northeastern Kentucky county boomed after the arrival of the railroad in 1882, and the timber and brick industry kept the rail lines active – not to mention passenger traffic.

The west elevation of the Olive Hill Railroad Depot.

The 1910 Prairie style railroad depot in downtown Olive Hill is one of few visible reminders of the age of the railroad. At its busiest, the depot, with its wide overhanging eaves and red tile roof, saw seven trains pass daily. Numerous large windows, with sandstone lintels and sills, pierce the brick walls of the depot, allowing natural light in and good views out for waiting passengers.

Harry S. Truman and Mrs. Earle Clements on the back of his train in Henderson, Kentucky. Image from the October 10, 1948 edition of the Louisville Courier Journal.

One of the biggest crowds to ever cluster around the depot might have been during the fall of 1948, when Presidential candidate Harry S. Truman stopped in Olive Hill on his “whistle-stop” tour.

The street side (north elevation) of the depot.

The George Washington and the Fast Flying Virginian were two of the passenger trains that regularly stopped in Olive Hill, but all passenger traffic ended in Olive Hill in 1972.

A section of the 1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing the depot.

The railroad tracks are gone, and the bustling economy of the town, bolstered by the brick plants, started a slow decline after World War II.

The depot today looks much as it did in this photo from 1992. Image from the National Register of Historic Places files.

In 1989-1990, the depot was renovated to use as a bank, which likely secured the future of the building.

Looking north across Mill Branch at the depot and downtown Olive Hill.

Fires and floods have both impacted downtown Olive Hill, but in 2014, the community was named a Kentucky Trail Town. Along with this, the depot gained a new role: as the trailhead for the existing and planned trails.

Another view of the depot.

I’m not sure how much support the Trail Town Initiative now receives (a change in administration always means changes in programs, even if they are designed to boost tourism and help local economies) but it’s at least a start for communities like Olive Hill. And I like the continuing synchronicity of use – from a railroad to a trail – keeping a distinctive and handsome historic building functional and a contributing part of the local streetscape.