Zion Station

Zion Station was one of the early settlements along the valley of Ten Mile Creek in the northwest part of Grant County near Gallatin County. In fact, many residents did not know which county they lived in and some of the old records for this section are found in Gallatin County. The present site of Zion Station is located on land that was first owned by the Craig family which consisted of around 6,500 acres and was a portion of the John H. Craig patented survey which consisted of 20,400 acres. This settlement had no name until after the completion of the short line division of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1869. We find that James W. Green was donor of the land on which the depot stood and he also operated a general merchandise store. It was through his suggestion the station derived its name from a neighboring village that stood on a hill above, which was named Mt. Zion. The railroad station was called Zion because it was in the valley below Mt. Zion. Since there was a Zion in Henderson County, Kentucky, the name was changed to Zion Station. A post office was established in 1871 with William P. Conyers as the first postmaster. Subsequent postmasters were:

Houses were built by the Railroad Company for the section crew to live in. They were the maintenance workers that repaired and kept the track in good condition. As the village grew and developed, there were two merchandise stores, a tavern, two blacksmith shops, a tobacco warehouse, a mill and two doctors. Early tavern owners were James J. Leary, Nathaniel Points, Jams Sams, Carlton Thomas Atha, Price Beach, G. W. Alexander and J. W. Atha. Early merchants were Nathaniel Points, Stephen Rosell, James T. Green, J. J. Leary, and John M. Carlton.

The earliest schoolhouse was a log structure about 3/4 mile west of Zion Station on the New Cut Road near a branch on the farm of Samuel Brinegar and was known as the Brinegar School. Later, a frame building was built across the branch on the same farm and was called Zion School and was used until 1914. The building was dismantled and A. D. "Dock" Webster used the material to build an addition to his house. Another frame structure was built on the south corner of the intersection of the Concord Road and the Zion Station and Napoleon Road located one mile northwest of Zion Station. This building served as the Zion School until destroyed by fire around 1933.

About 1/4 mile on top of the hill northwest of Zion Station, a log church was built on land donated by the James S. Oldham family, which became known as Pleasant View Baptist Church and was organized in 1867. Then, around 1907, a frame building was constructed and is still in use.

History of Grant County, John B. Conrad, Editor
Published by the Grant County Historical Society, Williamstown, Ky.
Article by K. H. Connely, 1992.

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