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The Sunday Herald
Leader for March 10, 1950, stated that in 1950 more home
building permits were issued by Building Inspector James L. Shea's
office than were issued during the spring of any of the past nine
years. As an example,
the paper showed many pictures of houses being built in Meadowthorpe.
The new subdivision was developing rapidly, although there was still
no telephone or bus service. Door-to-door mail delivery was not
started until November 10, 1951. Bill and
Viola Shirley's house at 241 Boiling Springs was started April 10,
1950, and finished in July. Maureen Mauser recalls that digging,
sawing, and nailing was going on 24 hours a day." Often
residents would look out in the morning and realize that sometime
during the night a basement had been dug. That was the year that the
second street Hillsboro, was opened, and what was perhaps the first
of many moves within the subdivision took place. The Thorntons sold
their house on Boiling Springs to the Samuel Tabors and moved to
Hillsboro. It was fortunate that their move was made in the fall,
because there were periods in the winter of that year when nothing
could move for days at a time. Mrs. Mauser states that at one point
the wind had blown a wall of snow more that six feet high in front
of their house. Hillsboro
actually was a hill. The 300 block was graded off to make it less
steep. A number of the other streets were named for associates of
Hugh Taylor; Forbes for
Kermith Forbes, his partner; Burke for County Commissioner Dudley J.
Burke. Pepper Drive was named for Col. James E. Pepper. One of Mr.
Taylor's favorite actors, Wallace Beery, was buried in Glendale
Cemetery in California the day the streets were being named, so
"Glendale" was selected for one of them. Larch Lane was
named for the larch trees in the area. Trees in the subdivision are
of so many varieties that autumn colors now are spectacular. Taylor Drive was
opened in 1951, Forbes and Burke in 1952, and Leestown, running
parallel to Leestown Road, in 1953. The 1952 Lexington City
Directory listed BoiIing Springs, Glendale, Hillsboro, Meadowthorpe,
and Taylor, with many addresses given as under construction. The
1953 Directory shows one address (the Meadowthorpe Sales Office) on
Burke nothing on Forbes. Forbes
Road extended only from Boiling Springs to just beyond Taylor. On
Larch Lane 14 homes were listed as under construction. Meadowthorpe
had already become a community with the Meadowthorpe Homemakers Club
established that year. Townley Drive,
the last street opened, had the first house built in 1954. The early
residents on Townley had to walk to Boiling Springs to pick up their
mail from rural roadside boxes. The 1955 City Directory was the
first that listed residents on all the streets of Meadowthorpe. Probably the
first office in Meadowthorpe was that of the builders; Forbes and
Taylor, who moved from 755 East Third Street to 361 Boiling Springs
Drive. The first office on Forbes, listed in the 1954 City
Directory, was also that of Forbes and Taylor. That office and the
residence of Jimmy Derrick were the only buildings on Forbes at that
time. In response to a petition from the residents, the first
hydrants were installed in the sub- division in 1952.
Joe Evans, an insurance agent and resident, circulated the
petition. In 1960 the
Leestown Road Fire Station was located on the south side of the
road, with a brand-new 1961 fire engine. The first unit of the Meadowthorpe Commercial Business
Center was approved in 1952. The first commercial building was
constructed by Hugh Taylor, then bought by H.R. Taylor, Jr. and
James W. Thornton, Sr. They
later sold it to R.T. Jordan. The
first store to open at the Meadowthorpe shopping center was the
Leestown Pike Liquor Store owned by Hugh Taylor's son Jack.
The store featured liquor from the Pepper Distillery, along
with Old Fitzgerald, Calvert Reserve, and J.W. Dant.
The remaining space was rented to other businesses, Dunn
Brothers decorators; James H. Maffett, electrical contractor;
Frankfort Kentucky Natural Gas Company; Commercial Printing Company;
Breeders Supply & Equipment Company; Charles C. Shields,
Accountant; Laval Cleaners ; The Little Shop, selling children's
clothing; and Lawrence Drugs. By 1954 a number
of other businesses had been added; Bryant's service station;
Meadowthorpe Mart furniture store; Nathan R. Garrison's real estate;
Robert W.Hester's barber shop; Gail's Super Market; Hinson, Shields,
& Tuttle, accountants; Modern Electric Company; Meadowthorpe
Beauty Shop; and Meadowthorpe 5and10 cent store. Across the road
were the Black Angus and the Blue Ox Restaurants, Meadowthorpe
Service Station, and the R.M. Coons farm store, which later became
the Leestown Road Hardware Store under the ownership of Frank Dicken.
In 1955 Austin's Kentucky Food Store had superseded Gail's, and
Kelly Dairy shared the address of Garrison Real Estate.
Hinson, Shields & Tuttle had moved to Forbes, and
although several addresses there were still vacant, a number of
businesses and offices had moved in. The Lexington & Fayette
County Tuberculosis Association; the Meadowthorpe Barber Shop; Estes
& Company food brokers; Hiles Upholstery;
Heilbron Matthews Company; and Dr. L.E. Barker, dentist were
added to make the area a vital shopping area. Later additions
along Leestown which remain in business today were the office of Dr.
Bernard D. Cebelak, chiropractror; the Thoroughbred restaurant; and
Citizens Bank (now Bank One). Others in the 60's that have since
moved to other locations were Dr. Ted D. Ballard, family
practitioner; a shoe repair shop; a gun and locksmith; and a music
store selling pianos and organs and giving lessons. A branch post
office operated out of various businesses at different times, the
last location being in the shoe repair shop. Danceland, on
Old Frankfort Pike near what is now South Forbes Road, was a very
popular night spot in the 40's and 50's. South Forbes, an extension
of the street in Meadowthorpe, was not cut through from Leestown to
Versailles Road until 1958. Familiar people
in the neighborhood during the early days were Leslie Shores, the
mover; Jack Courtney; Bev Reed, who did all the clean-up for Taylor,
lived at the corner of Leestown and Burke Roads. The uncle of “Big
John” Travis, Col. Redd, who used to be grand marshal of all the
local parades, lived in Meadowthorpe. |
The History of Meadowthorpe
(Continued)