At the old, former train depot on Main Street in the town of Pleasureville sounds of construction come from inside. A young couple is working to open a barbecue restaurant at the depot. Jenny Elston Stark has memories of a previous restaurant at the depot.
“We have been in a catering business for 14 years and a food truck business for three, so we thought we'd bite the bullet and go a little further. We’re so excited because this has come full circle for me. This was actually my first waitressing job when I was 18 years old.”
Pleasureville, a town of about eight hundred people, straddles the Henry and Shelby County lines. The Dutch settled here in 1784 after buying land from Squire Boone. Jenny appreciates the town’s history. The depot that was built in the late 1800’s became a focal point of the community.
“We're very excited for just the history here speaks volumes. The sign outside is 1880s. There was a fire here in between there at some point. But this is all basically, there's the rafters in the back, original. The floors are pretty old. I'm not sure of how original, but they're very close. The tracks are gone, but the history is not.”
In February Jenny and her husband Chad opened “All Porked Out” at the depot and look forward to making their own history in Pleasureville.
A couple of miles away, Mike Grimes is looking through a stack of books. The former social worker has edited and published thirteen books that document the local history of Shelby and Henry County towns like Pleasureville, Cropper, and Bethlehem.
“I had retired in 2011 and was really just looking for something to do to occupy my mind. You know, you want to keep your mind sharp. You don't use it, you lose it. And I had a barber up in Pleasureville, this lady, Kim, and she had all these old pictures of Pleasureville in her barber shop, and it really fascinated me, the stories behind who these people were, and so that's kind of what sparked my interest. Also, a desire to know where you live, know the history, how this came about.”
Grimes’ books are a collaboration with the families that live in the towns. “You can't do it without community involvement. For instance, on the Bethlehem book, the Sewell family, I interviewed them and just got tons of information. They were some of the original people out there. You know, Philip and Betsy Sewell are still there. They're living in the house that was built I think it was 1850s maybe, and they still live in it.”
The books on each town are full of family memories and photos. Pictures of church socials, high school sports teams, small businesses, and families from generations ago.
“It’s a community scrapbook, if you think about it in those terms. What I first try to do is to hit all the institutions, the post office, the school, the churches, the businesses, and start with that, and then filter down to the people from that.”
Grimes discovers all kinds of interesting stories that make up a town’s history. For example, in 1912, Pleasureville Academy won the state football championship by beating a big city high school team.
Grimes says it wasn’t unusual to have “older” players on the high school squad.
“These were the days before the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, which enforces the rules of eligibility on the schools. Well, there were none back then, and so what you had is people coming home on weekends who were in college to play for the high school team, the high school team who beat Male High School, you know, beat the Lexington high school that year. That was big.”
Olivia Harrell lives in Bethlehem and is President of the Henry County Historical Society. The historical society has all of Grimes’ books on local town history, and records going back to the late 1700’s.
Herrell says, “Henry County was formed out of an act of the state in 1798. It was named for Patrick Henry, who was the governor of Virginia. And the first deed was
recorded in Henry County in June of 1799. We have deed books, physical court orders, wills, and marriages. People come in to do genealogical research. And of course, we're approaching where America celebrates being America for 250 years.”
Grimes says it’s important to record a town’s history while there are still older residents alive and able to contribute.
“I don't know how many people I interviewed for these books over the course of the last what, 11 years, 10 years where they said, I wish I would have talked to my parents more. I wish I would have asked them more questions about your history and your family, because once they're gone, they're gone, and I think it's very important to get their stories down before they go. Because since I've been doing this, a lot of people have passed on that I've interviewed and featured in these books are no longer with us.”
As time marches on, some of the small town's decline, and others find new ways to build a future. What doesn’t change is the distinct history of families who settled in the towns generations ago and are not forgotten in the pages of Grimes’ books.
“My main job is to compile all the information and put it into a digestible form. I do the captions. Every now and then I write a story in a book, but it's mainly the stories of the people who are from those places.”
Herrell also welcomes visitors at the Henry County Historical Society.
“If anybody ever wants to come visit Henry County, I welcome them to come take a tour of the Historical Society. I'm happy to give a tour. It doesn't take long. We're not a very big building, but we do make use of the space that we have, so please come see us.”
If your stomach is grumbling, you might stop by Pleasureville for a meal at “All Porked Out.” Jenny and Chad look forward to seeing you.
“We are mainly barbecue, but we do a little bit of everything. You get a little twist on things. We do an Italian night, sometimes with brisket, brisket meatballs, brisket lasagna. We try to intertwine all of our smoked meats. We do all smoked meats. He does all the meats. And he does wood burn, he does stick burn. He does not do pellets, gas, or electric. I do all of these sides. We make homemade sauces. And we are just so tickled. We are just so excited to get back in here and get this revamped.”
The trains are gone, but the Pleasureville depot is back in business. Welcome to the small towns of America.
