Former L&N Train Station in Corbin KY
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot, Corbin Kentucky
The entry of the railroad into eastern Kentucky in the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the founding and expansion of numerous towns in the region. The small community of Corbin (previously known as Lynn Camp), located in the southeastern section of the state in the foothills of the Appalachians, owes its development to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which extended its line from Livingston, Kentucky, to Corbin in 1882. By the later part of the century, the town had become a hub from which four of the L & N's branches radiated, including the Cumberland Valley Division, the Knoxville Division, the Cincinnati Division, and the Louisville Division. The life of Corbin in many respects can be said to have revolved principally around the railroad, with the depot serving as a natural focal point of that activity.
The L & N, chartered in 1850, commenced regular operation of trains in 1859. After the Civil War, the company embarked upon a program of expansion through both construction and acquisition. The railroad was particularly interested in southeastern Kentucky, known to be rich in coal. Surveys were conducted during the war for the extension of the Lebanon branch into the area and by 1870 it had run a line as far as Livingston. By 1882, it had reached Corbin. A depot was likely constructed around that time.
"In April 1886," wrote John Tilford, former president of the L & N, "a start was made from Corbin, Kentucky, toward the coal fields of eastern Kentucky. This became the Cumberland Valley Division, the southern branch, eighty-seven miles, having been completed to Norton, Virginia in May 1891. That line was built through Cumberland Gap, the gateway used by Daniel Boone and other pioneers emigrating from Virginia over the Wilderness Trail to establish settlements in 'Kentuck'".
In the first decade of the 20th century, other lines were acquired or built that gave the railroad access to such coal-rich counties as Perry and Letcher.
As the branches were extended by the L & N south and southeast, Corbin was to become important as a service center for the surrounding region. In 1891 the L & N purchased sizeable parcels of land in Corbin and shortly began construction of a roundhouse and other buildings, which were completed in 1893 and located a short distance from the depot. Prior to that time, the mechanical facilities of the Cumberland Valley Division had been located at Shawnee, Tennessee. (Corbin still maintains a large locomotive shop complex for the maintenance of cars used in the coal field region.)
As the activities of the L & N in Corbin increased over the years, it became necessary to construct a more sizeable depot building to accommodate necessary additional office space. The present two-story depot was built in 1908. Additions were made in 1921 and 1928.
Although passenger service to Corbin was discontinued in 1968, the L & N continued to operate divisional offices in the building until 1975, at which time it was sold to the city. The first floor of the structure is presently serving as headquarters for Corbin's Senior Citizens. Plans are being developed for alternative uses for the remaining space.
Building Description
The L & N Depot is on the east side of Lynn Avenue in Corbin, Kentucky. The City Hall is one block northwest, and the depot's location is on the fringe of the town's busiest section. This building, erected in 1908, faces east toward multiple railroad tracks running on a north-south axis, beyond which is a narrow, undeveloped strip.
An ample, two-story structure, the depot has a width of eighteen bays on the main (east) facade. Fenestration, however, is asymmetrical. The frame construction rests on a high concrete foundation, and due to the westward slope of the site, the basement is fully exposed at the rear.
Pavilions of slight projection, emphasized by paneled corner pilasters, are at either end of the east and west sides. A multi-hipped roof with French tiles and hip rolls covers the structure. The widely flaring eaves and a continuous boxed cornice are supported by long, narrow brackets. Protruding from the roof's center on the east is a flat-topped, hipped-roof dormer with four sash windows. A two-story, one-bay wing on the south is also treated with corner pilasters and is capped with a tile-covered hipped roof that has flaring eaves of equal projection.
The centered entrance on the east is sheltered by a one-story porch. Its corner posts continue above the flat roof to a height of two stories. They and two additional posts uphold a second and higher shelter that extends to the railroad tracks.
To the immediate south is an open shelter composed of five king posts with brackets supporting a shed roof. Further south is the former L & N Express Office. Constructed in 1909, this is a one-story, eight-bay building that employs the same construction materials as the Depot.
