The first Bowling Green railroad depot was built in 1858 prior to the L&N's rails reaching Bowling Green. The rail line from
Nashville reached Bowling Green on August 10, 1859. The line between
Louisville and Nashville was complete on October 18, 1859, and was celebrated by 10,000 Nashvillians. During the
Civil War, the young L&N found itself to be a point of contention between the North and South. Kentucky was integral to the war and President Lincoln summed up the situation in this manner: "I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game". Bowling Green was critical to both sides with its proximity to the Confederate state of Tennessee. The L&N branched just south of Bowling Green with routes to Clarksville, TN, and the line to Memphis, TN, opening the path to the
Western war plans. By 1863 the L&N was the only railroad to cross both Union and Confederate Territories. The actions of L&N President James Gutherie resulted in a contentious relationship with the U.S. War Department, after the
Battle of Perryville sealed Kentucky's alliance, but saved the L&N's future. When the
Confederates were forced to retreat from the city in February 1862, they burned downtown and all the supplies they could not carry, as well as the depot and trains. The
Union troops occupying the city set about building a new depot. It was a wooden building and served the railroad and people of Bowling Green into the 20th century. In 1878
malaria broke out from
New Orleans to
Memphis, Tennessee. Residents of Memphis wishing to escape the
epidemic boarded the L&N trains, but residents from other towns refused to let them leave the train at their towns. Bowling Green's station was the first place they could leave the train, but enormous
bonfires were built in order to deter infection. The evacuation of Memphis lasted a few days, until Memphis was
quarantined. By the 1880s, the depot was becoming too small to adequately serve all those who used it, and was in dire need of repair. However, the president of the L&N,
Milton H. Smith refused to build a new station in Bowling Green after the citizens chartered a competing railroad, the Bowling Green & Ohio, that was to run east to Scottsville and connect with the Chattanooga & Ohio out of Gallatin, Tennessee. In retaliation, Milton Smith moved the railroad operations to Paris, TN, causing economic hardships for Bowling Green. Milton Smith died in 1921 and the current depot was opened with much fanfare October 2, 1925. It was constructed of
limestone from the former White Stone Quarry located in southern Warren County, KY. The L&N Railroad signed an exclusive contract with a taxicab company to pick up riders at the station so a rival company sued claiming an illegal monopoly in 1928. In
Black and White Taxicab and Transfer Company v. Brown and Yellow Taxicab and Transfer Company, the United States Supreme Court upheld the contract. By the early 20th century, local agricultural goods, such as
strawberries and
tobacco, were shipped from Bowling Green's depot, as well as locally mined building stone and
oil. This made Bowling Green's L&N station the largest employment center in Warren County. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Bowling Green station was a stop for over 30 passenger trains, plus freight trains, on a daily basis. The L&N and other railroads operated the
South Wind, which made a stop in Bowling Green.
Major named trains making stops at the station •
Azalean (
Cincinnati to
New Orleans, with
Pennsylvania Railroad connection to
New York City); one branch of the line split west to serve Memphis •
Humming Bird (Cincinnati to New Orleans) •
Pan-American (Cincinnati to New Orleans, with PRR connection to New York City); one branch of the line split west to serve Memphis
Decline With the signing the Transportation Act in 1957 to create a national interstate road system and the burgeoning popularity of air travel, passenger service began to decline in the 1960s.
Amtrak took over intercity rail service in 1971, and cut back service to a single train, the Chicago-Miami/St. Petersburg
Floridian. and the last passenger train left the depot on October 6, 1979. The building was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979. ==Preservation==