Kuttawa, Ky. (Louisville, Paducah, Elizabethtown: trip , work, university)

[rrted]

What was in Kuttawa, Kentucky, in 1928? Was it a resort? Did it have a good beach? Other attractions? I'm researching Illinois Central Railroad African American workers, and have reference to a large group of Paducah IC shop workers and families taking an excursion to Kuttawa. What would they have done/seen on this excursion in the late 1920s?
Thanks for the help.
Ted Kornweibel
Professor, Emeritus
Department of Africana Studies
San Diego State University
kornweib@mail.sdsu.edu

[TransplantedfromKY]

LOL Maybe they took a trip to the Castle on the Cumberland.

[nalabama]

Kuttawa was established by Charles Anderson, once Governor of Ohio. He was a strong supporter of African-American rights and a staunch opponent of the so-called Black Laws of the day. Around 1880, Anderson also developed the Kuttawa Mineral Springs Resort, around the "Cerulean Spring" said to exist on that site. It is said that it "...quickly became a favorite gathering spot in western Kentucky around 1880...." and "...During the 1920s and 30s the resort boasted tennis and croquet courts, a barbeque pit, cabins for 200 tourists, dining hall, open air pavilion, and concession booths for vendors of ice cream and watermelon." References can also be found to summer church camps, reunions, etc. being held there.

Some interesting bits of trivia found this afternoon while searching the internet: 1) Governor Anderson was the afternoon part of the twin bill when Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address; 2) Kuttawa is evidently a hotbed of publishing for books relating to the history of Kentucky, but scant information can be found on the internet regarding Kuttawa's own history; and 3) Kuttawa and Eddyville were the only two towns that had to be moved when Lake Barkley was created by damming the Cumberland River west of Kuttawa--remnants of Old Kuttawa can still be seen beneath the waters of Lake Barkley.

[nalabama]

Another tidbit about Governor Anderson and the Illinois Central Railroad:

"...while in the Ohio senate he became the originator of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, and after his removal to Kentucky, he was one of the three men most influential in the building of the Elizabethtown & Paducah Railroad, now the Louisville division of the Illinois Central Railroad."