Brief description of local properties

The Auburn Historic district encompasses 136 properties located along 10 streets at the center of Historic Auburn. Included in the district are contiguous, intact, historic resources of the community, which comprise residential, commercial, religious and industrial properties that document the development of Auburn from its earliest 1860's days through the 1930's.

The town of Auburn, Kentucky was incorporated on June 3, 1865. (Acts of the Kentucky Legislature Vol. ll 1865 p. 590)

About ten miles east of Russellville on the pike between Bowling Green and Russellville was a settlement known at one time as Federal Grove and then as Woodville. It was situated in a grove of Maple trees near a big spring. This spring was used by people from miles around to make sugar. The spring belonged to John Viers and was given by him to the town. He also gave the land on which the depot was erected when the Memphis branch of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was built through the town in 1859.

A teacher by the name of A. J. Carney came from Auburn, New York to the Woodville area. He lived in the home of Harrison Wood and worked as a surveyor, as well as a teacher. He made or assisted in a survey of the town and named its streets, and renamed the town Auburn, after his native city. Mr. Carney laid off the area into lots and his records were stored in the railroad station. Early in the Civil War, the station was burned and these records destroyed.

One of the earliest businesses in Auburn was a tavern and stage shop operated by a Mr. Jacob Yost. Mr. Yost not only offered travelers a place to change horses, but also ran a boarding house and a dry goods store. This building known as the Hadden home is still standing on Peterson Avenue. Later, Auburn had two hotels--The Crewdson Hotel and The Planters Hotel--for the accommodation of travelers.

Another early industry was the Gordon Woolen and Grist Mill on Black Lick Creek. At one time E. R. Gordon was recognized as one of the most substantial citizens of Auburn, but when the northern army invaded Auburn, his entire stock of woolen blankets was confiscated and other damage done. He was never able to financially recover.

One of the first merchants in Auburn was D. Childress who operated a mercantile business continuously for a period of 42 years. A clothing store belonging to Aaron Coghill had one counter, which was devoted to ten-cent articles. This was the first and only ten-cent store ever in Auburn. In 1882, the frame stores on the south side of Main Street were destroyed by fire. They were replaced by a row of brick store buildings with the Davidson Opera House on the second floor. Mr. G. W. Davidson, a storekeeper and banker erected these brick buildings. These buildings are still in use today.

W. N. Crewdson and his son had the first drug store in Auburn. They were followed by Ed Burr, Dr. McDavitt, and Dr. T. O. Helm. The last drug store in Auburn was the Aull Drug Store, later named Auburn Drug Company.

The first bank in Auburn was the G. W. Davidson Banking Company, organized between 1875 and 1880. It was located in one of the brick buildings on the south side of Main Street. A stock company organized the other bank, the Bank of Auburn, in 1905. The first president of this bank was Dr. T. O. Helm. Others were W. W. Walters, H. P. McCormack, and S. R. Stokes. On March 20, 1929, the two banks merged as the Auburn Banking Company. J. Guthrie Coke served as its president for nine years. J. H. Bumpus became president in 1938. 1950 followed with C. D. Pottinger and in 1969 Glenn Tinsley. December 1993, the Auburn Banking Company was sold to the First Community Bank Corp., retaining the Auburn Banking Company name.

The Methodist church, organized before 1865, is the oldest church in Auburn. Three buildings have been erected on the site of the Methodist church. Mrs. Eleanor Temple gave the ground for the building and the first building was called Temple's Chapel. Both Methodist and Episcopalian services were held in this building. Congregations of Baptists, Cumberland Presbyterians and Disciples were also organized at Temple's Chapel. Early Methodist pastors include G. R. Browder, B. B. Orr, R. F. Hayes and P. H. Davis.

In September 1865 a group of 17 men and women met in the school building in Auburn to discuss organizing a Presbyterian church. In October, an ordained elder was sent to a meeting of the Logan Presbytery held in the Pleasant Hill Church, Warren County, Kentucky, to ask admittance to the Presbytery. Permission was granted and the group worshipped in the school building until their first church building was completed in 1867. A second building was erected in 1900 and a third in 1932. When the flooring under the pulpit of the first church building was removed, the following note was found:

"Lord, let Thy name dwell in this house. Give grace to Thy servants
who may speak in Thy name. Keep the vine planted here for the sake
of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Oct 22, 1867"

Signed by James H. Morton.

A forerunner of the Auburn Baptist Church was the Liberty Baptist Church, which was organized in 1828 and located three miles north of Auburn. In the 1860's Mrs. Susan D. Proctor and Mrs. Permelia Hayden, commonly known as "Aunt Susy" and "Aunt Permelia," seeing the need for a Baptist church in Auburn took their canes and trudged the streets of the city looking for those of like faith and inspiring them to build a church. The Auburn Baptist Church was organized in May 1866. The first members were Dr. W. P. Orndorff, wife Susan R. and daughter Mary L., Mrs. Maggie Childress, Mrs. Catherine Viers, Mrs. Permelia Hayden, Mrs. Susan D. Proctor, Mrs. Martha McCarley, and M. B. Morton. The first pastor was Dr. John South, and for a time services were held in the only church in town, Temple's Chapel. Other pastors of the Auburn Baptist Church include S. P. Forgy, W. C. Taylor, C. W. Dickens, J. H. Burnett, W. B. Neal, J. A. Bennett, J. H. Moore, and C. C. Daves.

 

As mentioned earlier, the first teacher in Auburn was A. J. Carney, who came from New York prior to the Civil War. He taught in a two-room schoolhouse. Mr. Carney taught the advanced students and his wife taught the younger ones. When the war broke out he left Auburn to enlist in the northern army and there was no more school for a time. After the war Joseph Burnett began teaching the Auburn school. He also served as pastor of the Auburn Baptist Church. In 1890 Adam Rogers began a two-year principal-ship. In 1892 the property was deeded to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Auburn Seminary began.

The Auburn Seminary was established under the direction of the Cumberland Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky and was intended to be a training school for Cumberland University of Lebanon, Tennessee. It continued for 18 years, 1892-1910, and during that time P. A. Lyon, O. O. Russell, Charles E. Bates, Prof. Bates and
W. Lee Harris served as principals. Assistants to Principal Harris were D. T. Harris, Gil Harris, and Miss Nell Childress. At the close of the Auburn Seminary in 1910 the Auburn county high school began. P. A. Lyon served as principal until 1915.

In 1894 John B. Gaines of Bowling Green began a weekly newspaper, The Auburn Advocate. After 1900 Ed Herndon was publisher of the paper and in 1907 Arthur Herndon became the editor. In the late 1920's Roy McDowell started the Auburn Times which he sold to Percy Hurt in 1930.

Auburn physicians through the years have included James Tracy Holland, T. O. Helm, E. Burr and his son, W. R. Burr, Dr. McDavitt, George Holcomb, A. J. Finley, T. W. Blakey, Dr. Bean, Dr. C. A. Wood and Dr. C. V. Dodson.

Dr. James Tracy Holland was born September 11, 1812 in North Carolina. After a short medical practice in North Carolina he came to Logan County, Kentucky where he died in 1886. He and his wife, Sarah Morton Haden, had one daughter, Lucy Clay. She married Aaron McCarley and they were the parents of four children - Tracy, Lynn David, Nelle, and Ashley. Sarah Haden's parents were Jefferson Haden and Elizabeth Morton.

The following story is told of a surgery Dr. Holland was asked to perform shortly after he came to Auburn. A young child had a polypus in his nose which two older doctors in Russellville refused to try to remove for fear of hemorrhage. Dr. Holland felt he could control the bleeding and agreed to perform the surgery. After elaborate preparation, he took tweezers and proceeded to remove a red bean from the child's nose. There was no hemorrhage.

Prior to 1902 the only telephone service in Auburn was a long distance line located in Aull's Drug Store and a private line between Dr. T. O. Helm's office and his residence. In 1902 Dr. T. O. Helm, Professor Charles E. Bates and Professor T. J. Pilant organized a corporation for a local telephone service in Auburn. At the end of the 1903 school year Professor Pilant moved to another teaching position and his interest was bought out by Blakey Helm. Blakey, a student at Auburn Seminary, had worked for the telephone company as a collector of monthly bills, a lineman (this required the use of a long pole to straighten out the wires), and as a substitute telephone operator at night and on holidays. In the spring of 1904 the Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph Company bought out the corporation and took over the operation of the telephone service in Auburn. First president was its organizer, G. W. Davidson. Succeeding presidents were Aaron McCarley and Thomas Hamlin.

Mr. G. W. Caldwell, a native of North Carolina and a Confederate soldier, was in Logan County when the Civil War ended. Liking the area he decided to settle in Russellville, where he began a leather tanning business. As the water in Black Lick Creek which flows through Auburn was more satisfactory for tanning that the water in Russellville, he moved his family to Auburn in 1879. At first, he worked in a small tannery owned by Mr. George Thomas Blakey and his brother, Mr. Church Blakey. In 1900 Mr. Caldwell and Dr. T. O. Helm bought the tannery.

In 1900 Mr. Caldwell's daughter, Ethel, was married to Mr. L. S. Howlett of Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Mr. Howlett worked with his father-in-law in the tannery until 1904 when they were able to buy the business and the name was changed to Caldwell Lace Leather Company. Members of the Howlett family continued to operate the business until 1968 when it was sold to Browning Arms Corp. of Morgan, Utah. The Caldwell Lace Company is till in operation today.

In 1876 Auburn Mills, Inc., a corn mill, was built by Jack Gordon. In 1879 the mill was purchased by A. E. Griffith and flour-making facilities were added. From 1906 until 1911 J. Guthrie Coke owned and operated the mill. He sold to a small corporation and H. B. McClary became manager with a board of directors consisting of S. O. Moody, Dave Scott, R. L. Stevenson, J. G. Coke and John Moody. In 1927 Dave Scott and his son, Ray P. Scott, bought out the stockholders and the business became a partnership. Through the years the Auburn Mill has been an important factor in the economy of the area. It has served as a ready market for grain raised by the farmers and as a source of excellent flour for housewives. It is still in operation today, but under the name Scott's Mill.

A visit to Auburn today is like stepping back into the past. The brick store buildings built by Mr. Davidson are still there and still being used. You can stay over-night in a bed and breakfast and can spend many hours browsing through the antique stores and gift shops. One of the most outstanding features is the number of beautiful old homes there. In fact, 136 pieces of property are listed on the Natural Historic Register.

* Other references used:

Coffman, Edward. The Story of Logan County. Nashville, TN: The Parthenon Press, 1962.

Coffman, Edward F., Jr., and Judy Lyne. Logan County Kentucky - A Pictorial History. Bowling Green, KY: Rivendell Publications, 1988.

Carolyn Brook - Consultant of the Auburn National Register of Historic Places, Louisville, KY.

Newspaper clippings from the vertical file at the Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY.

The Longhunter Vol. XX Issue 1 pg. 3-6.