Nugent's Crossroad - Midway - Wallace Station

Nugent's Crossroad - Midway - Wallace Station. . , Toll Roads, toll houses, stage stations and taverns. Railroad Stations with shipping docks, post offices and dry-goods stores. Towns invented by the railroad and small communities congregated at crossroads and mills., Since 1800, commercial, transportation and social places have been important parts of this agrarian society. Because country needs connection and community, too. , Central Kentucky's Nearest Ohio River Ports lay north and west at Cincinnati and Louisville. So since settlement, dependable ways to transport goods influenced the planning and building of roads, railroads and commercial centers., Nugent's Crossroad , The oldest surviving community place on Old Frankfort Pike is the Offutt-Cole Tavern (aka Lee's Tavern). Since about 1799, this two- story log and brick building at the intersection of Old Frankfort and Midway Pike (US 62) has anchored the crossroad. First a respectable inn and stage coach stop, when Midway Pike (now US 62) became an improved toll road in the mid-1800s, the building also served as a tollgate house., The Lexington and Ohio Railroad, the first railroad chartered in Kentucky, connected Lexington to Louisville via Frankfort in 1835. The line ran through Fayette and Woodford Counties north of Old Frankfort Pike. To offset construction costs, the L&O established the town of Midway in northern Woodford and sold lots. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, Midway is recognized as Kentucky's original railroad town., Midway sits at the top right corner of the 1872 De Beers Atlas above. Follow the Midway Pike south from town about two miles to the intersection at (Old) Frankfort Pike - the location of Nugent's Crossroad. Today, historic Midway remains the commercial heart of northwest Woodford County, where locals and visitors alike enjoy its dining, shopping, and small town ambiance. , Railroad Stations became important community gathering places where locals picked up mail and supplies and caught up on the news. In the Scenic Corridor, station houses with post offices anchored the surrounding communities of Pisgah, Duckers, Yarnallton, and Spring Station. Most locations had several homes, a general store and perhaps a doctor's office. Spring Station on Woodlake Road (locally referred to as Alexander's or Woodburn Station) also supported a blacksmith, livestock loading pens, general store and freight house., Wallace Station , In 1885, the Versailles and Midway Railroad sent tracks north to Georgetown in Scott County. Wallace Station grew where the V&M rails crossed Old Frankfort Pike. Wallace was so close to Nugent's Crossroad, that the two essentially merged. At Wallace Station, locals got the mail, news, home and farm necessities. McKinivan's Store (now Wallace Station Restaurant) and the McKinivan House across the road anchor the Wallace Station Historic District. [Captions:] , Above: Offutt-Cole Tavern, 1940s (KHS) , Left: The tavern, today. , Below: Midway Historic District , Right: Spring Station on Woodlake Road Wallace Station Restaurant on Old Frankfort Pike (all CA)