Boyd – The Kaintuckeean

Cattletsburg Bank Collapses, Demolished

The Catlettsburg National Bank Building, at right
in 2010, collapsed on July 27, 2014. Author’s collection.

Early this morning, an exterior wall of a circa 1885 bank in Catlettsburg collapsed. About an hour and a half ago, demolition began.

I learned of this from Abandoned via Facebook:

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Post by Abandoned.

The old bank was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (Caution: PDF). The application includes the following about the historic structure that is no longer part of Kentucky’s present:

Old Bank Building, late Victorian in style, was built by the Catlettsburg National Bank in 1885. Its outer dimensions are 33 feet by 100 feet. The stone walls of its basement are of pressed brick laid in diamond cement. Two stone lions flank the stone steps that lead to the recessed main door. The door is topped by a glass transom and framed by a brick archway. The windows were originally much higher; they extended to the arched brick lintels, and the pairs of windows at the extreme right and left of the enclosed photograph were originally single windows, with stained glass at the tops. The roofing material, Pennsylvania slate, is attractively arranged in a pattern consisting of curved and rectangular pieces. The ornate roof has dormers, spires, a minaret, and wooden embellishments.

The Catlettsburg National Bank Building (aka Old Bank Building) was added to the 1973 at which time local historians felt “that if the building were properly restored, it would again be ‘altogether the handsome building in Catlettsburg.'”

In 2010, I visited Catlettsburg. The town is the county seat of Boyd County. The federal courthouse used to function out of Catlettsburg until it was moved to the larger city in the county, Ashland, during the 1980s. State court functions still operate out of the county seat. The first photo above is from that 2010 visit.

It was condemned in 2011 according to the Ashland Daily Independent. In February 2012, the same part which collapsed today collapsed and some repairs must have been made. As seen from Google Maps from April 2012:

Image of the Catlettsburg National Bank from April 2012 after a prior wall collapse.
Google Maps.

Forged by Fire: Ashland’s Calvary Church

Calvary Episcopal Church –
Ashland, Ky.

Thomas Underwood Dudley, the second Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, emphasized growth among the Episcopal church among the populations in eastern Kentucky and among African Americans. Despite the segregationist views prevalent in his day (and his own background as a Confederate veteran), Bishop Dudley sought an integrated church: “God hath made of one blood all nations of men.”

Efforts to grow the Episcopal Church in eastern Kentucky included the first recorded service in Ashland being presided by Bishop Dudley on February 2, 1885. From that service, a mission was formed in the diocese and from this group grew the Calvary Church. In March 1887, the Rev. W. H Hampton was called as the first minister of the parish. On September 8, 1888, Bishop Dudley laid the cornerstone and Rev. Hampton preached the first sermon in the Calvary Church which opened on Easter Sunday, 1889 for a congregation of 300. Architectural notes are limited, but this structure was described as an “eclectic brick and shingle” church.

Growth continued in the Ashland church and throughout the diocese, which as divided in 1896 with the Ashland church joining the newly formed Diocese of Lexington. Several transitions occurred during this diocesan split including the transfer of the Ashland School for Girls to Versailles where it became the Margaret Hall Church School for Girls. Disappointed at losing the school, the parish rector also departed in May 1898.

On July 3, 1898, Calvary’s first rector – W. H. Hampton – returned from Ironton, Ohio to administer the Holy Communion. Eight days later, the darkest days in the church’s hour came when the church was destroyed by fire. Only a few furnishings were salvageable.

Remarkably, a new cornerstone was laid ten days later. In June 1903, the new church was dedicated by the Bishop Burton of the Lexington Diocese. The building, a brick and stone Gothic structure, dominates its corner at Winchester Avenue and 14th Street. With its three story tower, stonework, battlements, and lancet window, the church building is traditionally Episcopalian.

A brick parish hall was built immediately to the sanctuary’s northwest after a 1979 fire caused $1 million in damage to a building donated to the church in 1975. Another fire struck the church in 1982. Despite its setbacks, the church remains strong as it searches for its new rector.

“It is a beautiful church, inhabited by a charming and cultured people and set in the midst of delightful surroundings.”
-H. P. Almon Abbott (1938)

Sources: Calvary Church; EpiscopalKY; Fiftieth Anniversary Church History (1938); Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory; NRHP Application (Ashland Commercial Historic District) Sunday Independent (11/16/1987). Special thanks to Marty Perry of the Kentucky Heritage Council and Lisa Pullem, the Convenor of Calvary’s Rector Search Committee, for their assistance in gathering the research for this post.

No Destination: Catlettsburg Depot

Railroad Depot, Catlettsburg, Ky.

Catlettsburg was once called where the “river meets the rail.” The Catlettsburg Rail Depot, originally part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, is no longer an active station. Until 1998, Amtrak used to stop at CAT on its Chicago to NYC Cardinal train, but the line now stops in Ashland. Amtrak also utilized Catlettsburg as the termini of the Hilltoper line (a line that operated from 1977 to 1979 – check out this story (and pics) of riding the line in 1979) It served as an active C&O passenger station from 1904 to 1958.

In his rail journal dated 2004, Dan Chazin called the abandoned Catlettsburg station a “small, unattractive station.” To be sure, it is an old (1904) station and its yellow brick is certainly not the most asthetically appealing rail station I’ve ever seen. That said, it is a classic rural rail station from that era. Given the loss of rail traffic – and rail stations – nationwide, the structure is significant. This is why I’m so glad to see that it has been, since 2006, the Russell E. Compton Civic Center and Museum. From the picture, you can see that work is being done to expand the role of the center in the community.

At the time of my visit, a rusty caboose sat next to the station. Within months, the caboose was restored and painted a bright red with sharp yellow trim. From the pictures at Ashland’s Daily Independent, they’ve done a great job restoring the caboose.

A number of my flickr Catlettsburg photos were taken at the depot.

No Destination: Paramount Arts Center

Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, Ky.

Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center is an amazing facility with an incredibly full schedule – Broadway Live, concerts, classic films, and so much more. With a seating capacity of over 1,400, it is one of Kentucky’s largest indoor entertainment venues.

Planning for the Paramount began in 1928; the design was specifically for the popular silent films of the era. By the time the Paramount opened in 1931 (the first show, Silence, was a talkie), technology and entertainment demand had changed. So too had the national economy – the Depression was in full force. In fact, Paramount (the movie company) wanted to drop the project altogether but locals provided the support to go forward with the local project. Paramount’s reluctance to go forward is understandable – the company’s plan was to build one of these grand theaters in each of the fifty states (Ashland was chosen as it was then viewed as a locale with tremendous promise of growth and increased visibility).

Today, only twelve Paramount theaters remain. Other than the Ashland, Kentucky location, the theaters are in Denver, Colorado; Aurora, Illinois; Oakland, California; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Abilene, Texas; Bristol, Tennessee; Seattle, Washington; Charlottesville, Virginia; Anderson, Indiana; Austin, Texas; and Springfield, Massachusetts. Many (if not all) of these facilities closed for decades as multiplex movie houses became en vogue, only to be reopened after extensive upgrades and restoration.

This was the case with the Paramount Arts Center. It closed in 1971 as a movie house, but soon thereafter was reopened as an arts center. Extensive restorations continued for decades and the facility is as beautiful today as it was when it first opened nearly 80 years ago. I was lucky enough to be given an off-schedule tour of the facility during my quick trip through Ashland, but unfortunately my pictures don’t sufficiently show off the Paramount’s beauty. You can see them here on flickr.

No Destination: Carl D. Perkins Federal Courthouse

Carl D. Perkins Federal Building & Courthouse, Ashland, Ky.

Although Catlettsburg is the county seat of Boyd, it no longer houses a Federal courthouse for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The “Ashland Division” has existed since 1985 when the move was made from Catlettsburg to Ashland’s Carl D. Perkins Federal Building and Courthouse.

If you’ve accepted student loans, you’ve no doubt encountered Carl D. Perkins before. His “Perkins Loans” are a great help to struggling students. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 until he died in 1984. The building constructed in his honor is very typical of a 1980s government building; utilitarian in design with clean lines and generous use of windows but void of either warmth or individualistic style.

Perkins worked tirelessly for the underprivileged, particularly those in eastern Kentucky. He brought many national leaders, including the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, to the area to gain support for efforts to improve the lives of Kentuckians. At the end of the video of Sen. Kennedy, Rep. Perkins is seen sitting next to the Senator.

No Destination: Catlettsburg

Catlettsburg, Ky.

The population of Catlettsburg is only two-thirds of its size as of the 1900 census. As the county seat of Boyd County… wait? I thought Ashland was the county seat of Boyd County. It’s not? No. It is actually Catlettsburg.

Confusion aside, the location of Catlettsburg is strategic being located at the confluence of the Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers. It was a home of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 1911 until 1985. The population also declined to “urban sprawl,” which is not a concept you would think of when you think of a hamlet of 1,800 (within the city limits, but Catlettsburg’s ZIP code has a population of about 10,000). But in the 1960s and 1970s, the realignment and expansion of US 23/60 through the area prompted the removal of many residential units which were never replaced.

Catlettsburg was a major timber market in the late 19th century and as a result there are very few trees. I selected the picture above because it was one of the few tree-lined streets I noticed in the central area. It also featured homes (though many were converted to commercial use) which were, as noted above, an anomaly. For more of my Catlettsburg pictures, check out Flickr.

No Destination: John Milton Elliott

John Milton Elliott statue in Catlettsburg, Ky.

On the courthouse grounds of Boyd County is a statue dedicated to Judge John Milton Elliott. You may recall Judge Elliott from my earlier post on Frankfort’s Hampton House (where Judge Elliott was assassinated). Aside from being a judge on Kentucky’s highest court, Elliott had a storied c.v. as he served in the House of Representatives of both the United States and the Confederacy as well as in the Kentucky General Assembly. He was also indicted for treason in Frankfort’s federal court in 1861.

He was born in Virginia, but his family moved to Kentucky when he was a boy. In 1841, he began his law practice in Prestonsburg (Floyd County). After the Civil War, he located in Bath County and was elected to the Court of Appeals. Assassinated in Frankfort; he too is buried in Franklin County. Apparently, Elliott County is likely named after either him (but possibly for his father, who was also a state legislator). All of which begs the million dollar question: Why is this statue in Boyd County??

Of his murder, the New York Times wrote that it “could scarcely have taken place in any region calling itself civilized except Kentucky, or some other Southern state.” In kinder words, Elliott was described as “a man above medium height with a clean shaven full face, genial in manner and social by nature. He was a brave and true man in every sense of the word. He acted well his part in the great drama of life.”