On January 27, 1830, the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s first railroad was chartered by the state legislature. The Lexington & Ohio Railroad (L&O) charter named Elisha Winter and General Leslie Combs of Lexington as the principals of the new railroad. This was only a few years after the first railroads in the United States began operating.
Lexington and other communities in Kentucky were not able to access steamboats directly to handle their goods, and surface transportation options such as...