Last Week's Photo

There was just one response to the location of the weekly photo question and that came from Peter Brackney, a local lawyer, historian and blogger.  Peter, of course, recognized the distinctive house behind the little gas station since he drives Nicholasville Road every day.   

 See photo here

The labeling on the photo references J. S. Morton who was a local real estate agent and entrepreneur, formerly associated with Warfield Gratz.  He opened his own real estate office in January of 1926 at 108 Walnut St (now N. Martin Luther King).

In July of 1927, Morton recorded a plat for what he called the Morton Subdivision #2 on the Nicholasville Pike, outside of the then city limits.  There was on simple street running uphill from Nicholasville Rd which we now know as Hiltonia Park

The City had implemented zoning and created a Planning Commission a year earlier and shortly after applied those zoning rules to property in a buffer area adjacent to the existing city limits.  The County Fiscal Court also had to weigh in on such matters, so in July of 1930 Mr. Morton appeared before them to urge action since the sale of his lots hinged on the outcome.

The plat shows the traction, or interurban line, to Nicholasville which was removed in January of 1934.  The small gas station was placed in the former right of way, approximately in front of lot #6 (the house seen to the left).  You can see that power poles were on either side of the old interurban line in 1939.

The faint driveway apron seen on the extreme right of the photo is Suburban Ct, another residential development of the late '20s.

Today, of course, the Baptist Health Care hospital occupies the entire north side of this intersection and the Nicholasville Rd is five-laned but the distinctive little house on the corner is still there and a very good clue.