Greetings everyone,

Have you ever looked at an old photograph or document that had been tucked away for years only to discover something remarkable that you had somehow overlooked? That is exactly what happened to me recently.

Perhaps I had never taken the time to carefully read the reverse side of this postcard because I was always captivated by the photograph on the front. It depicts the Louisville & Nashville Railroad depot in Corbin, Kentucky, sometime around 1911. It was once a busy station that welcomed countless passengers traveling through southeastern Kentucky.

When I finally turned the postcard over and carefully deciphered the handwriting, however, I found something I never expected.

The writer, who mailed the postcard from Corbin on 30 January 1911, described what had otherwise been an uneventful journey aside from one important sentence: “”The train I came here on killed a boy about 15 miles from here; he looked to be about 12 years old, I think.”

I must have reread the writing ten times, thinking to myself, Does it really say that? To be sure I wasn’t misinterpreting the handwriting, I asked several others to examine the postcard independently. To the best of our collective interpretation, that is exactly what it says.

Of course, this wasn’t the end of the story. My mind immediately began racing with questions as a result of this discovery. Who was this young boy? Where did the accident occur? Was he crossing the tracks, walking along the railroad right-of-way, or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was his death reported in a local newspaper, or has his tragic story been forgotten over the years? Surely, if this was, in fact, a fatal accident involving an L&N passenger train, there would be some record of it somewhere.

With those questions in mind, I reached out to several contacts and historical organizations in the Corbin area. They were just as intrigued by the postcard and its unexpected glimpse into local history as I was. Unfortunately, as of the writing of this post, we have not been able to locate any newspaper articles or railroad reports that can be conclusively tied to the incident described on the postcard.

As historians, we often think of official reports, government documents, and newspaper articles as the sources that preserve the past. Yet sometimes the most compelling historical evidence comes from the briefest of personal observations. In this case, one sentence scribbled on the back of a postcard preserves the memory of a tragedy that may have otherwise been lost to time.

Complete Transcription with line numbers for reference:

I landed here today at [1]

2:40 PM. It has been traveling [2]

very hard. But the sun [3]

is shining now. [4]

I only wish I could be [5]

with you all today. [6]

The train I came here [7]

on killed a boy about [8]

15 miles from here; he [9]

looked to be about 12 [10]

years old, I think. I [11]

will get home by [12]

Wednesday or Thursday. [13]

With yours as ever, [14]

G. W. [15]

Do you have any ideas or resources on this event? If so, I would love to hear!

Best,

Craig