Rufus K. Combs (1858 – 1910) was a Midway blacksmith who served for 14 years as a member of the Midway City Council. He was also a dealer in “Old Hickory” wagons, manufactured by the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company of Louisville. His shop was located on East Bruen Street, between the Masonic Temple building and the Christian Church. His home was at 320 South Winter Street
The Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company was established in 1878 to manufacture horse-drawn carriages and wagons. They became the largest wagon manufacturer in North America, building the popular “Tennessee”, “Kentucky” and “Old Hickory” wagons. They were located at 2601 S. 3rd St just south of the University of Louisville campus.
Imagine the scene: a steam locomotive from Louisville chuffs to a stop at the Midway Depot. A flatcar is shunted to the siding in front of the Odd Fellows Building and a ramp is extended from one end. With a team of horses, a collection of brand new wagons is unloaded and hauled up the hill to join the inventory at the shop of R. K. Combs.
The destination of one such wagon can be found in the attached photo. Around 1900 a group of young people took an outing into the country which was memorialized in a photograph kept by Mayme Cogar in her album. While we can only speculate about the makeup of the group and the purpose of the outing, the photo shows that this fashionable set chose an “Old Hickory” wagon as their means of transport, and that the dealer from whom the wagon was purchased was “R. K. Combs, Midway, KY.”
Mayme D. Cogar Photograph Album at Georgetown College
Jean Rouse, 1978 NRHP Nomination for Midway Historic District
John E. Kleber, Ed., “The Encyclopedia of Louisville,” (Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 2000)
