Kirkmansville's Rise and Decline

Some history of Kirkmansville, KY

Road signs at the intersection in Kirkmansville, KY

The little village of Kirkmansville, KY, is located at the intersection of Highways 107 and 171, in the extreme northwestern corner of Todd County. It's an outpost in the borderlands -- less than two miles from both the Muhlenberg County and the Christian County boundaries.

Kirkmansville was incorporated in 1882 by an act of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  In 1900, the population of Kirkmansville was 126.

According to the Todd County, KY, Family History, compiled by the Todd County Historical Society, Kirkmansville was a thriving little village in the early 1900s.

Early in the twentieth century, Kirkmansville was an active community. There were four churches, one to three doctors, a hotel, a bank, a post office, a garage, a flour and feed mill, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, a funeral home, a restaurant and pool-room, a jail, four general stores and a school.  Also near the community, where the Edwards Bridge crosses Pond River, the Thomas Parker Sullivan Tobacco Factory and Warehouse served the area farmers. When Mr. Sullivan died in the early 1900s, the establishment closed.

Source: Todd County, KY, Family History

By 1928, the population had reached 200, and a school building that accommodated grades 1-12 had been built. In the early 1930s, a gymnasium was constructed for sports events. However, the school's enrollment dwindled despite efforts to bus in students, and it was closed in the spring of 1938.

The closing of the school was the beginning of a period of ill fortune.  Within a few years, the school building and the gym were both destroyed by fire. Then, in the winter of 1944, a major fire destroyed the bank, a garage, the post office and a house. Residents fought the fire with a bucket brigade until help finally arrived from the Greenville Fire Department.

More fires followed:

During a 25-year period, the bank, the school, a garage, the post office, the jail, a Negro church, three store buildings, and ten residences burned. Most of them were not replaced. A succession of tragedies almost had transformed a small progressive community into a ghost town, with little except memories to remind the citizens of Kirkmansville as it was 40 years ago.

Source: Todd County, KY, Family History

103 years after its establishment, the post office in Kirkmansville closed permanently on March 10, 1967(Source: Kentucky Place Names by Robert M. Rennick). Today, Kirkmansville is a crossroads with a handful of houses, a couple of churches, and a little store and restaurant.

I wonder why so many fires occurred in Kirkmansville. Was there evidence of deliberate fire-setting? Were there recurring coincidences of time, place and person? Many dark scenarios can be imagined -- maybe a parent, spouse, neighbor, or friend knew something about someone, but kept it a secret.

The Todd County history book doesn't say that an arsonist or pyromaniac was at work, but I think it's possible -- and even probable. Certainly, as the little town endured its era of fires, citizens must have hoped that their buildings wouldn't be next.

Other interesting scraps of Kirkmansville history:
Bids to carry the mail once a week from Kirkmansville to Elkton, a trip of 19 miles and 5 hours in 1876.
Shenanigans at Kirkmansville during 1912 revival meetings
A Kirkmansville doctor's account of a tumor that caused the stillbirth of a baby

Related posts:
Helen's Place in Kirkmansville, KY
Seen at Kirkmansville, KY

Helen's Place at Kirkmansville, KY

A visit to a unique country store and restaurant

A few weeks ago, I was invited to lunch at Helen's Place, to help celebrate the 82nd birthday of my neighbor. Miss Margie.

I was a little surprised when I learned that this restaurant is located in Kirkmansville, KY. Kirkmansville is a tiny village in the extreme northwestern corner of Todd County. It sets at the intersection of Highways 171 and 107, which are not major highways. (Nor are they wide or straight highways!)

Miss Ardell, Margie's friend since childhood and the inspiration behind this expedition, drove us over to Kirkmansville in her Buick. Margie's daughter Sandra and I rode in the back seat.

We took Pilot Rock Road (Highway 507) to Allegre and turned north on 171. The roads wound around the hills, through the trees, and over the creeks. Usually, I would have enjoyed the scenery, but I felt a little carsick. I'm not used to the back seat.

We pulled into the parking lot at Helen's Place a few minutes before noon, entered the little building, and looked for a place to sit. The main room was full of tables and chairs, but Helen invited us to sit in the back room.

A waitress brought our iced tea, and we went through the line to get our food. The meal was served as a buffet, and the food was very good. I can honestly say it was home-style cooking. I don't remember the entire menu, but I filled my plate with:

BBQ ribs
Chicken and dumplings
Creamed potatoes
White beans
Macaroni salad
Homemade rolls
Johnnycake

My companions decided to have dessert. While they were getting their pie, I took some pictures of the back room and enjoyed the exhibit of old-time photos from Kirkmansville's past. (The white bands across the photos below are the unavoidable reflections of the overhead florescent lights.)

The back room has tables on one side of the aisle and chairs on the other side. On Friday nights, local musicians meet here to jam and to entertain. At the front of the room, a microphone and speakers stand ready. Plaques over the mantle honor two beloved musicians who performed regularly in the past: Frank Phipps and Donnie McGehee.

(To place this music-making in its proper perspective, one must know that thumbpicking originated in this precise area of Kentucky. Merle Travis is from Muhlenberg County, just a few miles north, as is Eddie Pennington. Odell Martin, also a thumbpicker, was from the little town of Allegre, six miles south of Helen's Place. The Everly Brothers learned thumbpicking from their father, a Muhlenberg County native and an accomplished musician.)

But back to Helen's Place and our visit there. While we were enjoying our meal and conversation, the tables in the other room had filled with diners. Many of the customers were men who had come in from the fields. I suppose they find it easier (and more fun!) to come to Helen's for a hot meal than to pack a lunch.

Helen came back to talk to us again before we left. She said that she was honored that we'd come there for a birthday celebration. We complimented her on the delicious meal, and she insisted that it was "just plain country cookin'."

Miss Ardell asked how many people were employed there. Helen explained that she has a staff of five, counting herself. They work together preparing the food, without any firm rules about who's going to make what. Usually, they fix two main dishes as well as a variety of side dishes.

When we went to the front room of the store to pay, I spotted a box of college-rule spiral-bound notebooks on the shelves. I bought a few for Isaac; I had tried unsuccessfully to find them at WalMart the night before. My meal was surprisingly inexpensive. As I recall, it was less than $7.00, including the tea.

Someone at Kirkmansville paints rocks and sells them at Helen's Place. Sandra bought one for Margie that had a fawn painted on it. When we started home a few minutes later, we saw a doe and a little spotted fawn along the road, just outside of Kirkmansville.

After we went around the first few curves, Sandra suggested that we stay on Highway 171 at Allegre and go home by Butler Road, instead of turning onto Pilot Rock Road. It was still a winding road back to Allegre, but after that, the road was somewhat less crooked. I was glad.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Related:
"Seen at Kirkmansville, KY" -- Prairie Bluestem
"Great Road Name Lost" -- Prairie Bluestem
History of Kirkmansville -- Todd County, KY, Family History

Seen at Kirkmansville, KY

A light unto the Gentiles

Driving home from Greenville a few weeks ago, I paused in Kirkmansville and photographed the United Methodist Church, It is a simple structure with little adornment. Its fanciest parts are its arched windows and its steeple. The steeple (or bell tower) reminds me a little of a sturdy lighthouse.

The church sits along Highway 171, and as you can see from the shadows on the building, it is well-shaded in the late afternoon.

I read that the Methodist-Episcopal Church in Kirkmansville was established in 1876. Its 29 charter members were probably the forefathers of the Methodist congregation in Kirkmansville today.

Great Road Name Lost

Life in Christian County, Kentucky... The Rural Life... And What I Think About It... A Small Detour from the Cheerful Ramble...

Because of petty criminals, "Froghop Road" in Christian County no longer exists. Its name has been changed to "Woody Shelton Road" by the County Board of Magistrates. The new sign is in place, and another great road name has been lost to the public.

I understand why the Magistrates decided to change the road name. The road signs were expensive and someone wouldn't stop stealing them. As stewards of the county coffers, they decided this was a fairly easy problem to solve and thus we now have "Woody Shelton Road" instead of "Froghop Road". No one has stolen the new sign, and probably no one ever will.

I liked the old name. It was a bit of gentle humor from times goneby that lifted folks' hearts for a moment whenever it was read or spoken, a gift with a smile from the past.

"Froghop Road" was an affectionate name that hinted at the road's meandering passage through trees and rocky hills. Wandering by remote meadows and small fields, dipping down to cross Buck Fork River and Weathers Branch, it traverses the wilds between the Allegre Road and the Kirkmansville Road. It's a wagon trail that was paved but never straightened, an old road made by early settlers who followed the footpath of Indians who walked the trail made by deer, elk, and other creatures of the Kentucky wilderness.

For a while, people will still call it Froghop Road, but little by little, the old folks will die off and the young folks will forget. In another generation, children who live on Woody Shelton Road will be shocked that it ever had a different name.

Too bad vandals had to ruin it. They'd better hope I never see a "Froghop Road" signs in their barns or houses, because I'll turn them in for theft of public property -- both the sign and the road name.

I know it's just a little thing, and it's not ruining my life, but I hate it when nice things are spoiled forever by jerks.

Fearsville is the largest settlement on the map.
It has a population of 50 to 75 people, maybe.
The darker green on the map is woodlands
and the lighter green is agriculture.

Related post: Psycho Path Voted Wackiest Street Name

Technorati tags:

theft
vandalism
names
Christian County, Kentucky