In 1916, Henry W. Collier joined R.H. Kilgore, and the business became the Kilgore &amp; Collier Funeral Home. The company was later operated by Robert Hutchinson, grandson of Mr. Kilgore, and Nellie S. Collier, the widow of Mr. Collier. In later years, Russell Compton and Allan Collier, the son of Henry and Nellie Collier, served as funeral directors&nbsp;under the tutelage of Robert Hutchinson.<br><br>In 1958 Robert Hutchinson suddenly and unexpectedly passed away and Russell&nbsp;Compton and Allan&nbsp;Collier became partners and continued to operate the business. Finding themselves shorthanded, they hired a young man born and raised in the Big Sandy's gate city, Mike Neal. Neal worked with Compton and Collier until 1978 when he opened the Neal Funeral Home on Center Street. After nearly a decade, Mike returned and purchased the Kilgore &amp; Collier Funeral Home in the fall of 1987, and the business has been known as the&nbsp;Neal-Kilgore Collier Funeral Home since that time.&nbsp;

The Neal-Kilgore Collier Funeral Home has operated from this building since 1888. 

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In 1866, 28-year-old carpenter Robert Henderson Kilgore moved from Pikeville, Kentucky to the bustling river port town of Catlettsburg. Kilgore opened a cabinet and furniture shop on Front Street overlooking the mouth of the Big Sandy River. After being asked by many residents to build coffins, he responded to the needs of his customers by serving as an undertaker starting in 1868. Kilgore rebuilt his shop following an 1875 fire and increasingly focused his efforts on providing mortuary services for the residents of Catlettsburg. From its origins as a subsidiary business, Kilgore created this funeral home on Panola Street in 1888. The funeral home has changed hands over the years but has served the residents of Boyd County for over 140 years and is the county's oldest continuously operated business. 


Neal-Kilgore Collier Funeral Home

This tour begins at the site that was home to Catlettsburg National Bank and includes a Civil War marker, the former railroad depot, one of the oldest churches in the region, and the historic home of Alexander Catlett. The final stop is on the west side of the railroad tracks. Similar to other communities in the region, the railroad provided an essential link between Catlettsburg and national markets but also dissected the small community.

<p>Founded in 1885, the Catlettsburg National Bank would stand as one of the largest, most successful banking institutions for Catlettsburg. Located in downtown Catlettsburg, the late Victorian building would handle up to a million dollars a day during its height in 1900. During the thirty-five years of active operation, they printed almost one million dollars’ worth of national currency.&nbsp;This would set a precedent in the Ashland area and demonstrate the economic vitality of the bank. The money for the bank was a result of the booming steel and coal industries of the Tri-State area. Catlettsburg and Ashland were stops on the river for barges that passed through the area.</p>

<p>During production, the bank produced paper bills in the 1875 ten dollar and twenty dollar notes. It printed upwards of six thousand notes for both the ten dollar bills and twenty dollar notes. It also printed the 1902 series of notes for the five, ten, and twenty dollar notes, which included the red seal and blue seal series. In this series, the bank produced anywhere from two thousand to ten thousand notes for each set. These banknotes are significant because they denote the national push to print paper currency. Any bank that nationalized was able to print paper currency, and when they did, it was indicated in their charters. These charters are further broken down by color and date, such as the 1875 series, which was the first charter, and the 1902 series, which was the third charter.</p>

<p>By 1916, the bank's economic power was declining, and it was eventually sold to Farmers and Merchants Bank. The grand building would later be used for office space until it was completely abandoned. By 2011 the building was in severe disrepair, the city stating that the ceiling was slowly caving in and the exterior walls collapsing.&nbsp;In 2012,  the bank building received its condemned status. The Kentucky Trust for Historic Preservation attempted to delay the demolition of the building, but the structural damage was too extensive to attempt to repair. The building was finally demolished in 2014 after a corner of the bank collapsed.</p>

The late Victorian-era bank building in downtown Catlettsburg was built in 1885 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After it was founded, it spent thirty-five years printing money, printing $978,800 in that time period. At its height of business in 1900, it was clearing one million dollars daily. In 1916, the building was sold to the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and the bank closed in 1931 in a wave of bank closures in the early years of the Great Depression. The building was used as offices for area businesses and physicians in the coming decades but suffered neglect that made it largely vacant by the 1980s. The building was later abandoned and condemned in 2011. Demolition crews began to tear down the building in 2014 despite efforts to save the historic structure, which had survived the great Ohio River floods of 1913 and 1937.  

Catlettsburg National Bank (1885-2014)

Union forces maintained a small garrison in Catlettsburg that protected supply lines and served as a supply base and communication center during the Civil War. At the time, control of the Ohio River was essential for trade. Confederate troops maintained control over nearby Prestonsburg for part of the war.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>Although this location saw little&nbsp;action, the most significant battle in Eastern Kentucky occurred about an hour's drive from this location at the Battle of Middle Creek. The battle is significant&nbsp;for a variety of reasons, including the role of future President James A. Garfield as the Commander of the Union forces.&nbsp;<br><br>After Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall and the Confederates arrived in the Big Sandy Valley in December 1861 and set up camp, it did not take long for word to reach Union headquarters. In response, Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell put Colonel James A. Garfield in charge of the 18th Brigade, which consisted of 1,500 men, and instructed him to drive the Confederates back into Virginia. The battle occurred in the Middle Creek Valley on&nbsp;January 10, 1862, and ended&nbsp;with the Confederates retreating,&nbsp;surrendering an advantage they had gained in Eastern Kentucky.<sup>2,3 </sup>This was a significant victory for the Union as it prevented the Confederates from advancing and&nbsp;gaining ground in the region.&nbsp;<br><br>The Catlettsburg area was cleared of Confederate forces again two years later&nbsp;thanks to Colonel George W. Gallup and Union soldiers from Kentucky. &nbsp;The Battle of Salyersville (also called the Battle of Ivy Point) took place on April 13-14, 1864. Confederate Colonel Ezekiel F. Clay and his men were on a raid to Kentucky, opposed by Gallup&nbsp;when they attacked Union forces at Paintsville. Colonel Gallup and his men were successful in holding their position and the battle resulted in heavy casualties and another loss for the Confederates, who were driven out of the area again.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br></div>

This historical marker commemorates a Union Civil War Army encampment that protected vessels traveling along the Ohio River from potential attack by Confederate troops or bushwhackers. This post also served as a supply base and communication center for Union forces. This marker was placed by the Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Department of Highways in 1964. 

"Civil War Army Base" - Kentucky Historical Marker

The early 1800s saw the spread&nbsp;of Methodism into Kentucky, and Boyd Country was no exception thanks to traveling ministers. John W. McReynolds traveled throughout Boyd&nbsp;County on horseback leading to the creation of small groups of Methodists that later formed the basis of many congregations that continue to this day. <br><br>Similar to the Baptists and other leading Protestant denominations, the leaders of the Methodist Church avoided the issue of slavery. During the Conference of 1844, however, the Church split because they were unable to reach an agreement as to the propriety of&nbsp;bishops owning slaves. The split led to the creation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The congregation was racially&nbsp;segregated until&nbsp;1968.&nbsp;<br><br><div>This congregation in&nbsp;Catlettsburg was part of the southern branch and the&nbsp;only Methodist church north of Louisa until the Civil War. The building was built in 1867 for the new congregation. The West Virginia Conference met there until their eventual consolidation in 1939. The church grew, and the building and&nbsp;congregation survived the&nbsp;1937 flood and provided relief to members and neighbors. Individuals who were a part of the congregation held important roles in the academic locations around the Catlettsburg and Ashland areas.&nbsp; <br></div><div><br></div>

Constructed in 1867, First United Methodist Church is one of the oldest structures in Cattlesburg. The congregation was first introduced to the community of Catlettsburg as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in the years prior to the Civil War. The early movement of Methodism in Boyd County was conducted at this time by traveling ministers on horseback. After the Great Revival led to a surge in interest throughout states such as Kentucky, membership within Methodist congregations increased and Methodism became the largest denomination in many southern and western communities in the 1830s. During the 1844 General Conference, where the debate over whether bishops could own slaves caused a split in the church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was created. Like many other churches in Kentucky and the South, this congregation dates back to this branch of the Methodist Church. 

First United Methodist Church

In 1798, Alexander Catlett and his son Horatio came to the mouth of the Big Sandy from Virginia. They founded a new trading post and tavern on the river that opened in 1808 to help with trade coming down the Ohio River. They kept the business up and running until 1833. During this time period, the small stopping point started to grow with the popularity of the steamboat and timber industry. It became one of the most significant stopping points between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.<br><br>In 1812, Catlett started the construction of the original log cabin that his family lived in, which is now the left wing of Beechmoor.&nbsp; It was built to overlook the Ohio River on what is now Route 23. This newer addition to the home was built before 1868 and built in a Georgian style. The log cabin and the later addition were covered in a white plaster wall to hide the original architecture.&nbsp;<br><br>In 1863, Laban Moore and his wife moved into the Catlett house, renaming it Beechmoor for his last name and the large beech tree on the property. Moore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Whig Party and served under Buchannon's presidency. He supported the Union and the abolitionist movement and chose to fight on the side of the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War. He was elected to Senate and became an important advocate for the area.<br><br>After the Moore family, the house fell into disrepair. Recently, several descendants&nbsp;of the family have come back to Catlettsburg to help with remodeling the home. The extensive collection of books that still resided in the house was moved to the local library. They are also trying to ensure that the building can withstand the elements in the future.&nbsp;<br>

Alexander Catlett came to the mouth of the Big Sandy to operate a trading post for the area, which was the beginning of the town of Catlettsburg.  Beechmoor was his residence that was first built in 1812, with materials shipped down from Pittsburgh. It was later purchased by Col. Laban Moore who lived there with his family. Beechmoor was named after Moore and the large beech tree that resided on the property. 

Walking Tour of Catlettsburg, Kentucky

Neal-Kilgore Collier Funeral Home

Introduction

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Backstory and Context

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