HISTORY OF MT. WASHINGTON 

 The earliest known name of Mt. Washington was “The Cross Roads” because of its location around the intersection of Highway 31E and Highway 44.  The Cross Roads name was later changed to Mt. Vernon, but when a post office was applied for, it was discovered that there was already a city in Kentucky with that name.  Consequently, Mt. Washington was the name accepted. 

 Mt. Washington was incorporated in 1822 and at that time contained three churches, two schools, six stores and groceries, five doctors, two taverns and twelve mechanical trades.  The population at that time was approximately 700 as pointed out in the History of Kentucky by Lewis Collins, 1847. 

An advertisement for the Mt. Washington Academy in 1848 specified room, board, light and fire in the best homes from $1.00 to $1.50 per week and tuition at the school was $10.00 for the year.  Pupils attending the school were promised an improvement in morals, habits, and manners.  The Academy was the pride of the community and gave the name of “Athens” to this section of the county. 

 The site where the Cyclone Store now stands was the location of “The Old Buck Mills,” a saw mill, grist and flour mill, and in addition had a wood carving machine and wood turning lathe, where they made the old poster beds, many of which are now being sold as fine antiques. 

 Charlie and Thomas Parrish operated a blacksmith shop and a wood carving shop on the northeast corner of Highway 31E and Highway 44.  There was also a tannery at the location where Harbins Flooring now stands.   

 Taylor King operated a blacksmith shop at the corner of 31E and Flatlick Road.  It was in the same building that W. T. Fox operated a wood working shop.  In those years, a family who needed a wagon would have to place an order a year in advance.  The cost was approximately $80.00.  Plows and various other farm tools and even a few buggies were made. 

 L. N. Parrish and Peyton Burdette each ran a coffin shop.  The dead were usually carried to the graveyard in a wagon of a friend.  There were no embalmers or funeral directors in Mt. Washington at that time.  A friend would take the measurements of the deceased with a length of string and take it to Mr. Parrish or Mr. Burdette to have the coffin made. 

 Addison Parrish, Isaac Parrish, and Sam Davidson each operated successful tailor shops, while John Myers and Charles Webb each ran a saddle and harness shop in early Mt. Washington.  Linton Snapp, possibly where Snapp Street received its name, Billy Smith, Joe Huff, Bill Hall, and George Abel each operated a grocery and dry goods store.  Mr. Stuckey ran a hat manufacturing shop. 

 Mr. H. J. Barnes was a well-known millwright and builder.  He built the building now occupied by McFarland Troutman Funeral Home at the corner of Highway 44 and Highway 31E. 

There were no drug stores, but there were five doctors in town that rolled their own pills and dispensed them to their patients.   

 Dr. J. F. Furnish delivered 3,004 babies during his practice and was one of the last doctors to make house calls in this area.  He was also the first doctor in the United States to deliver quintuplets. 

 Around 1910 the late Supreme Court Justice Wylie Rutledge was living in Mt. Washington in his grandmother’s home on Highway 31E across the street and just north of the new Post Office. 

 The tallest building in Mt. Washington in the early 1900’s and the pride of the whole community since it’s erection around 1906 was the Macabee Hall.  Practically everyone in the area had attended plays there and shopped in the small stores housed in the three-story building on the southeast corner of Highway 44 and Highway 31E.  Unfortunately, on the night of November 18, 1940, at about 11:30 p.m., the scream of “Fire” swept through the community.  Macabee Hall was on fire.  Fanned by high winds and with no means of fighting the flames, the landmark of the community burned to the ground.  Many feared that the entire business block would burn, including the historic Cyclone Store that did catch on fire.  Fortunately, the volunteer fire department from Jeffersontown arrived and saved the rest of the businesses located around the intersection. 

 After the destruction of Macabee Hall, it became apparent that Mt. Washington desperately needed an organized fire department.  The townspeople, led by J. E. Fisher and Marvin R. Porter, started knocking on doors and contacting other leaders in the community for contributions to purchase fire-fighting equipment.  In 1941, and order was placed for a 1941 Chevrolet fire truck with a 300-gallon pumper. 

 Mt. Washington residents had to contend with a dirt and limestone road through the center of town, now Highway 31E, until 1925 when the new road from Bardstown to Louisville was completed and Mt. Washington was changed forever. 

 For many years prior to 1916 the Mt. Washington two-room school building stood on the south end of town on Highway 31E.  In 1916, a new building consisting of four classrooms was erected on the lot where the present Mt. Washington Middle School building now is located. 

Although students attended the high school between the years 1916 and 1927, there were no graduates until 1928 when one student graduated.  The class of 1970, the last graduating class of Mt. Washington High School, consisted of 70 seniors.  The State found it more economical to establish a consolidated high school in Shepherdsville for the entire county.  As Mt. Washington’s population grew rapidly during the 1970’s, the state found it more feasible to locate a new high school in Mt. Washington again.  The residents of Mt. Washington were elated to see the school return.  Bullitt East graduated its first seniors in 1982.   

 Because of the tremendous growth in the Mt. Washington area, Mt. Washington Elementary School was built in 1976, and because of continued growth, Old Mill Elementary School opened its doors in the fall of 1988, followed by Pleasant Grove Elementary School in 1997 and Eastside Middle School will open in 2006.

 The 31E Bypass was constructed from Louisville to Mt. Washington in the late 1990’s bringing commercial growth to the City. 

 In 1999, the City of Mt. Washington received the “1999 Most Progressive City” award from the Bullitt County Chamber of Commerce.

The City purchased land at the end of Landis Lane in 2001 and developed the Mt. Washington Business Center in an effort to bring jobs to Mt. Washington.  

Frank Cornell Park on Waterford Road was dedicated in October 2005 and consists of a soccer field and walking path.

Mt. Washington continues to grow at a rapid rate with the 2000 Census showing a population of 8,485. 

Lloyd House

The Lloyd House pictured above is located in Mt. Washington on U.S. Hwy 31E. A 1992 Bicentennial Project, the home is an 1880 restoration depicting life in Mt. Washington at the turn of the century.