Okolona Park Neighborhood Association

okolona history

okolona history

Okolona
EARLY TRAVELERS FOUND BIG OAK A SIGN OF SAFETY; MOTHERHEAD'S WAS THE PLACE TO BE FOR FUN IN THE '40S

By Beth Ahonen
The Courier-Journal
ust like the legendary mighty oak that once towered above it, Okolona has grown from a small farming burg nine miles south of Louisville into one of the county's largest communities.
The massive oak stood for many years near the corner of Preston Highway and Okolona Terrace, serving not only as a landmark but also as a symbol of a deep-rooted, family-oriented community. While the tree no longer stands -- it was cut down in the early 1970s after being struck by lightning -- the area has continued to grow and prosper, boasting some of Jefferson County's largest businesses, a burgeoning shopping corridor along Outer Loop and a quick route via the Gene Snyder Freeway to eastern reaches of the county.
According to local lore, Okolona was not the community's first name.
Filson Club records show it listed in the early 1800s as the Cross Roads precinct, with a later change to Lone Oak.
But when the post office was built around 1900, people discovered there already was a Lone Oak near Paducah. The name ultimately chosen is said to be either a creative rearranging of Lone Oak or an Indian name.
Nowadays, Okolona is generally considered to stretch from Fern Valley Road south to the Bullitt County line, with Interstate 65 marking the western edge and Fegenbush Lane, Beulah Church Road and Cedar Creek Road outlining its eastern fringe.
According to the 1980 Census, those boundaries embrace some 42,161 residents.
Mattie Ellen Lawson, who has lived on Okolona Terrace for 50 years, said the tree and the old Wilderness Road trail that ran from Bullitt County to Louisville played a vital role in the area's history.
"The Wilderness Road came through Gap in Knob and across the Salt River in Shepherdsville, followed the Blue Lick Pike (now Blue Lick Road) and turned north at the Preston Pike (now Preston Highway)," said Lawson, 78. "As people would come across the Wilderness Road, they tried to come in groups . They always talked about meeting at the big oak to camp."
These days, a drive along some of the main roads -- Preston Highway, Outer Loop, Fern Valley Road, Shepherdsville Road -- provide no inkling of what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s, longtime residents say.
According to a history published by the Okolona Woman's Club in 1956, the area was settled in the late 1700s by several Virginians and Pennsylvanians, including Col. James Francis Moore, Charles and John C. Beeler, James McCawley, James Robb and the seven Bates brothers.
They and their descendants farmed the land, gradually splitting up the original large land tracts into smaller and smaller individual homesteads.
Churches were built through the early 1800s, from Little Flock Baptist Church in nearby Fairdale to Bethesda Chapel, a non-denominational church owned by the Methodists and located near old Manslick Road.
In 1860, Bethesda became Cooper Chapel and moved to a spot near the current Cooper Memorial Methodist Church on Preston Highway, while in 1888 Little Flock set up a mission in Okolona later called Meadow Home Baptist Church. That changed its name in 1953 to Okolona Baptist Church, after helping to form Highview Baptist Church.
Meanwhile, St. Rita Catholic Church, housing one of the area's oldest schools, opened its doors in 1921. It provided a parochial education through the eighth grade for area children, who would otherwise have had to drive to Louisville.
That's when Okolona was known as a farming area with some mining to produce charcoal for Louisville homes. It was infamous for its Wet Woods, a strip of swampy forest running south from around Fern Valley Road to Outer Loop and west from Preston Highway to near National Turnpike. The area, reportedly once inhabited by robbers and murderers, is now peppered with subdivisions, shopping centers, small industries and a landfill.
In 1922, a Louisville Herald article described it:
"Many tales of mystery and crime are told concerning these localities. There is a tale which recites the desperate deeds of a band of robbers who were supposed to haunt 'Ash Bottom.' Numerous murders were said to have been committed by these bands of outlaws, which buried the bodies of their victims deep under the surface of the marshes."
Lawson remembers hearing stories even in the 1930s of the Wet Woods' reputation.
"When people started back home, they would make darn sure they could get from Louisville to an inn," such as one that stood at the present corner of Preston Highway and Ulrich Avenue, said Lawson. "It was dangerous after dark. Robbers or what have you would catch you in the woods or on the corduroy road."
(Preston Highway was called a corduroy road because it was logs laid side by side over the swampy ground.)
Rita Neblett, of Farman Court, grew up in Okolona during the '30s and recalls relatives from Louisville teasing her about living outside the city limits.
"I remember my uncle, as a kid, coming out and saying you live out in the boonies," said Neblett.
But to her and others, Okolona wasn't the boonies -- it was a self-reliant family.
"It was lovely. You didn't have to lock a door," said Esther Rush, 77, whose family owned a 54-acre farm on Shepherdsville Road near Newburg. "It was all farmers and gardeners then."
"Okolona's just a different place" now, said Mary Jenkins, 91, who taught school for 48 years in Okolona. "So many changes, new buildings. Southern High School and the Baptist Church used to be just fields out there."
The way of life was different, too, said Jenkins, who lives at Wesley Manor Retirement Home.
"We went to church so much," she said. "Everything was in the home in that day. You didn't eat out. Today people eat out so much."
During the Depression, grocery shopping was done at either Miller's, Van Fleet's, Fitzgerald's or Crouch's, with Sellers Feed and Hardware filling other needs. Only Sellers still stands.
For social outings, the place to go was Motherhead's Ice Cream, a restaurant and ice cream shop located at Preston and Outer Loop.
"That was the central hangout for teen-agers," recalled the Rev. John E. Carter, pastor of Okolona Baptist Church since 1951. "People came out from the city on weekends to get ice cream. It was quite well-known around the county."
Mary Lou Smallwood, who now lives on Famous Way, remembers spending many an afternoon at the ice cream shop or at the movies.
"Motherhead's, that's where most of us went after school or after any activity," said Smallwood. "During one period, we had a movie house over Van Fleet's grocery store. It was in the early '40s. It was always full."
Retired assistant school superintendent W. R. Beams graduated from Okolona High School in 1934; he returned in 1936 to teach and coach there; and he became principal of Okolona Elementary School in 1951.
When he began his career, Preston Highway was still a two-lane road and the Louisville Water Co. had not run lines that far out.
"There were hardly any buildings between Okolona and Camp Taylor. The Outer Loop was a two-lane road called Robbs Lane," said Beams, who now lives on a farm in nearby Brooks. "The interurban railway used to run out here and turn around at Blue Lick Road."
But when General Electric opened its plant around 1953, changes started coming.
"That created the need for housing and schools," Beams said. "The growth meant people. With people, the community changed."
From then on, the booming economy spelled a population explosion, which brought improvements in schools, roads, sewers and recreation.
According to Carter, the Preston Street Improvement Club urged the state Department of Highways to widen Preston Highway to four lanes, while the Preston Street Supper Club raised funds for community parks and the swimming pool at Southern High School.
The Preston Street Water District ran waterlines throughout the community. It was taken over by Louisville Water Co. in 1974.
Since then, Okolona has witnessed continued growth. With the widening of Outer Loop to four lanes came the influx of shopping complexes, beginning with Jefferson Mall in 1978.
The long-awaited Gene Snyder Freeway was finished in 1987 and gave the community faster access to eastern Jefferson County.
In 1983, the area witnessed the fallout of booming business.
Plans by the city of Louisville to annex Okolona led to the community's attempt to incorporate as a fourth-class city.
Although the state Supreme Court ruled in 1986 against incorporation, an agreement between city and county government was reached which prohibits any annexations until 1998.
For now, many residents are happy with their growing community. "I've seen so many things happen," said Lawson. "It's wonderful. I'm glad to see all the shopping centers come in our area. I'd love to see a theater out here."
"I'm glad to have the growth of Okolona because everyone used to down it so," said Neblett. "I'm glad to see it progressing. We've all come a long way."
Beth Ahonen has lived in Okolona since she was born in 1966. Her family moved to Okolona in 1957.