Confederate Home at Pewee Valley Station Kentucky

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The postcard of the day is the Confederate Home at Pewee Valley Station Kentucky. This beautiful three story home was originally the Villa Ridge Inn in the late 1800s and was built for $90,000 as a luxury summer resort for the families of the Louisville elite. It failed, however, to attract enough business and was closed after only a few seasons. It was sold and became the Kentucky College for Young Ladies but that venture also closed within a short period of time. Around this time Bennett H. Young, a former Confederate officer and Kentucky businessman, formed a group to provide for the aging Civil War veterans who had war related disabilities and illnesses and could not provide for themselves. The group raised over $16,000 and asked the Kentucky government to support the cause which they did unanimously. A board of trustees was appointed with Young as the chairman.
The trustees were able to purchase the now vacant Villa Ridge Inn and the home opened in November of 1902 and quickly grew to around 350 residents. Requirements for acceptance were honorably discharged Confederate veteran, a resident of Kentucky for at least 6 months prior to acceptance, a sound mind and free of addiction to alcohol. The home provided shelter, food, medical care entertainment and religious services and received continued support from the state.
In March of 1920, a fire destroyed a large portion of the home but no lives were lost. The main building, the laundry and a portion of the infirmary were lost. By then, the number of residents had dwindled to a point where the remaining facilities were sufficient to remaining men until July 1934 when the state decided to close the facility and transfer the 5 remaining residents to the Pewee Valley Sanatorium. Over the 32 years it was open over 700 veterans were cared for. The remains were later razed and all that is left today is the Confederate Cemetery and the entrance gate originally installed in 1904.
This postcard is available in my Kentucky listings along with more than 10,000 additional postcards available on my website at Moody's Postcards.

High Bridge Kentucky Last Installment

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My last three blogs have covered High Bridge Kentucky and this one will finish the story on this interesting subject. The first article covered the High Bridge Park and Dance Pavilion while the second and third articles covered the history of the construction and modifications of the railroad High Bridge from the 1850s to today. Now that we know how the railroads crossed the canyon of the Dix River, let's take a look and how the people in their wagons and later automobiles crossed the river at High Bridge. The 1907 postcard below reveals the low tech but effective answer to the personal transportation problem across the river was a simple ferry. This postcard is available in my Kentucky listings along with more than 10,000 thousand additional postcards available on my website at Moody's Postcards.

The Railroad Bridge at High Bridge Kentucky Part 2

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My last blog covered the early history (1850s-early 1900s) of the railroad "High Bridge" at High Bridge Kentucky and included the designers, construction and impact of the bridge on the area. Since it was completed in 1877, the needs of the railroad increased in the amount of traffic and the loads that were being transported and changes became a necessity and the choice was to either rebuild the bridge or replace it. Gustav Lindenthal designed the changes to the bridge to insure it's continued use with the novel approach of using the existing footings of the bridge and rebuilding the new bridge around and on top of the existing bridge which allowed traffic to continue on the old bridge during the construction which began in 1910 and was completed in 1911. The finished product put the new bridge and tracks 30 feet above the original bridge and tracks. This required an approach ramp on both sides to reach the new heights. The postcard below is a 1913 view of the newly completed renovations with a train on the top track. The easy to way to tell the difference in the early and late versions of the bridge is the parallel girders on the new version while the old version had girders that came to a point where they met the bridge.
Railroad traffic continued to increase in this main North & South route and by 1929 a second track was needed. This was accomplished by doubling the tracks on the top but the extra width for the second track required the destruction of the limestone towers which were built before the Civil War. The bridge remains in use today, High Bridge Park has been rebuilt after years of neglect and the railroad depot was removed in the 1910-1911 construction. The High Bridge Post Office closed in 1976 but there is still a small village there on Kentucky State Route 29. This postcard is available in my Kentucky listings and thousands more United States views are available on my website at Moody's Postcards.

The Railroad Bridge at High Bridge Kentucky Part 1

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My last blog covered the Dancing Pavilion at High Bridge Kentucky but that was putting the cart before the horse. Early in the 1850s, the Lexington & Danville Railroad needed a bridge on the route from Cincinnati to Chattanooga to cross the Kentucky River south of the point where the Dix River merged with the Kentucky River. John Roebling was retained for the project and a suspenision bridge, similar to the one he was then building over the Niagara river, was designed with huge towers on each side of the river gorge. The stone towers and anchorage were completed and many materials were delivered but railroad ran out of money and the Civil War began. Roebling went on to build the Brooklyn Bridge.
After the war, the Cincinnati & Southern Railroad took on the project and hired Charles Shaler Smith and his Baltimore Bridge Company but his design was a cantilever bridge which used the towers from the Roebling design. Completed in 1877, it was the first cantilever bridge in North America AND the highest AND longest cantilever bridge in the world at 286 feet tall and 1138 feet long. Almost instant fame followed and with reliable rail transportation from the big cities of Cincinnati Ohio and Lexington Kentucky, tourists came to High Bridge to see the world record bridge. A Park was built, which included the dance pavilion highlighted in my last blog, and famous people including William Jennings Bryan and Billy Sunday spoke there.
But wait, there is much more history here and I will continue the story in my next blog. This postcard is available in my Kentucky listings and thousands more United States views are available on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Dancing Pavilion in High Bridge Kentucky

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One of the favorite past times and source of entertainment in the early 1900s was dancing and many large dance halls and dancing pavilions sprang up to accommodate this activity. The postcard of the day is a circa 1915 Detroit Publishing effort showing the open air Dancing Pavilion at High Bridge Park in High Bridge Kentucky. Local and traveling bands would provide the music while the locals filled the dance floor. If you look in the lower right hand corner of the image and just to the right of the bench, you will see a huge barrel on a stand labeled "Ice Water". Since the 1910 census shows a population of 150 for High Bridge Kentucky, you might wonder how such a small place could support this facility. The secret lies with the high bridge located there and that fascinating store will be the subject of my next blog. This postcard is available in my Kentucky listings and you can see all of my U. S. views on my website at Moody's Postcards.

1920s Downtown View of Warrensburg Missouri

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The roaring 1920s were an exciting time for most people with the war behind them and prosperity booming. The postcard below presents a snapshot of that time in downtown Warrensburg Missouri, a town of little less than 4,800 people, with a young man in the street in his nickers and all the ladies in their hats. The horse drawn transportation has given away to automobile and shoppers are out in force. On the right are Lobrans and Russell Brothers stores. This card was produced by The Albertype Company in Brooklyn New York and has excellent detail for a printed card. This postcard is available in the Missouri listings and you can see all of my United States views on Moody's Postcards.

Freemasonry & Masonic Homes

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The Masonic Fraternity was the first and largest fraternity of men in the world. The basic structure of Freemasonry began in the British Isles and came to the United States in 1733. The first lodge chartered in the Colonies was in Boston. Today Lodges can be found in over 55 countries and have a membership over several million with over 13,000 lodges in the United States with a membership over 2.5 million. Generally speaking, Masons are a group of men who want to live their lives in a moral and righteous way. Every DAY, Masons contribute in excess of 1.4 million dollars to various charities including Shriner's Hospitals for Cripple Children, 3 Shriner's Burn Centers and over 100 special clinics that help children with language disorders and learning disabilities. George Washington, John Wayne, Norman Vincent Peale, Buzz Aldrin and my father were all members of this group. It is no wonder that postcards of Masonic Homes, Lodges, Shrine Temples and Scottish Rite Cathedrals are very popular postcards and collected by both members and non members.
The postcard for today is a beautiful view of the Masonic Home in Wichita Kansas with the Chapel next door. I love these beautiful old stone buildings that appear so majestic and permanent. This postcard was produced in 1913 and it would surprise me if if it is not still standing and serving a lofty purpose. You can view of this postcard in the Kansas section of Moody's Postcards.

Here is another early view of the Masonic Temple in downtown Savannah Georgia. You can view this postcard on Moody's Postcards.