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Village of Maysville
Pike Co Illinois
Maysville Depot May Be Torn Down
The County Democrat-Times, Pittsfield, Illinois, November 15, 1939
Rumor says that the old Maysville depot, which has been used very little since passenger service to Pittsfield was discontinued in 1934, will soon be dismantled and torn down.
What tales this old building could tell if it could disclose all the happy family reunions it has seen between long separated relatives, the sadness of parting loved ones, or the bitter disappointment of someone who was expected to arrive, and failed to come. Thousands of travelers have passed through its waiting room on their way to and from the city of Pittsfield during the past 75 years.
In times past when all traveling was done on the train, guests were frequently met at Maysville by their host, and often accompanied that far on the return trip. Youngsters going away to college were usually escorted to Maysville by fond parents who could thus prolong the hour of parting a little while. The older generation will also recall the many hours of weary waiting spent at the Maysville depot---waiting for the main line trains which
quite often were late.
The present depot replaced one destroyed by fire about thirty years ago, retired Pittsfield station agent Tom Smith tells us. Mr. Smith also remarked that the depots at Griggsville, New Salem, Baylis and Barry have all been destroyed by fire at various times. Tom Smith's brother, George, served as one of the early station agents, possibly fifty years ago. He was followed by W. F. Blair, who is now retired and lives at Versailles. Frank Pennington, son of "Cap” Pennington, who was Pittsfield's agent before Tom Smith, served at Maysville for several years. I. L. Maxey, for many years agent at Barry, who is now stationed at Griggsville, started work at Maysville in 1911, shortly after he had been married. C. C. Klinefelter, who is now at Bluffs, was located at Maysville many years and lived in a little house just west of the depot, which has since been destroyed by fire. O. J. Glaze was the last agent located at MaysviIle, and the office was officially closed this year about the first of March.
The benches in the waiting room are gone, the office is practically empty, and peeling paint on the exterior gives an appearance of loneliness and desolation. Switch signals are gone from the towers, weeds are growing along the right-of-way close to the rails, and to all appearances, "nothing ever happens" about the old depot.
The village of Maysville, located about a half mile north of the station, was established before the railroad was built through the county in about 1865, and was named for Capt. Mayes who lived in the Bradshaw house east of the village. Capt. Mayes organized a wagon train to California in 1849 and Wm. Dunham, and Mose Spicer were among those who took wagons. Wm. Dunham was the father of "Cap" Dunham who operates a general store at Maysville.
Six or seven houses were located across from the station at one time,
and a store and the post office livened things up a bit. Now only two or three houses are at the station.
In 1925 the evening passenger trains between Maysville and Pittsfield were discontinued and section foreman James Ducey started operation of the bus known as the "puddle jumper", and "Leaping Lena". Although a good deal of fun was poked at the bus, travelers were glad to have the train service continued. During the winter of 1926-27 the bottom land east of Florence was flooded and ice froze over the hard road, remaining several months. All auto travel to the east was at a stand-still, and the motor bus did a big passenger business. The bus was abandoned in 1934 and since that time Maysville has been merely a freight depot for the Pittsfield “bob tail."
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