Wallace Station Midway Kentucky

Some four or five generations past, Wallace Station and Midway were connected by train tracks. Midway was Kentucky’s first railroad town, founded... more

by Paul Lindner

Title

Wallace Station Midway Kentucky

Artist

Paul Lindner

Medium

Photograph

Description

Some four or five generations past, Wallace Station and Midway were connected by train tracks. Midway was Kentucky’s first railroad town, founded in 1838 and so named for its location “midway” between Lexington and Frankfort. The emerging railroad system was a crucial link in transporting Woodford County’s abundant agricultural goods to markets in Louisville and Cincinnati.

Wallace Station began life as a train depot on a north/south route, offloading distillery supplies and onloading phosphate from an adjacent mine. The present structure was built at the turn of the 20th century and through the years has housed a general store, gas station, and post office. According to the late Kentucky historian Dr. Thomas D. Clark, Dora Brock, the child bride and ex-wife of emancipator Cassius Clay, was laid out in the store upon her death in 1914.

The place name was derived from a large estate in the vicinity, once the property of Judge Caleb Wallace, a fierce advocate for religious freedom and public education. Following the precedent they set at Holly Hill Inn, Chris and Ouita wanted to preserve the history and tradition of Wallace Station by naming their new restaurant Wallace Station Bakery and Deli. They even left the general store’s original counter in place.

Uploaded

January 1st, 2024