InTouch with Southern Kentucky July 2020 | Page 18

The location is significant, because
it will be facing the brand new
Lake Cumberland Farmers Market,
so that the agricultural aspect can
be enjoyed while shoppers select
produce from the best that the Lake
Cumberland area has to offer.
The new art installation is courtesy
of the Somerset-Pulaski Economic
Development Authority (SPEDA).
Through a partnership with Phoenix
Wellness, SPEDA secured a grant
from the Norfolk Southern Railway
to help with the funding. Burnett
Farms and Be You Boutique also
contributed financially to the mural,
meaning both businesses will be
featured in it.
SPEDA President and CEO, Chris
Girdler, has stated several times
that the artist’s design will not be
made public ahead of time. Rather,
those who want to know what
it looks like will have to wait until
painting begins and follow along
with the project.
The start date has not been given,
but it is expected to be finished in
July.
Girdler said he felt that the mural
will be a “perfect complement” to
the new farmers market.
And while he would give no specific
details, Girdler said the separate
aspects of the mural – agriculture
and the railway – “will be intertwined
somewhat and reflect the
collaborative and cooperative spirit
that SPEDA represents and promotes
within our community.”
He said, “Somerset and Pulaski
County has such a rich and deep
history with agriculture and the
railroads in general that we wanted
to do something that paid homage
to both of those industries.
Even after hundreds of years, both
are still extremely relevant in our
community today.”
Somerset’s history with the railroad
can be traced back to 1875,
when what was then Southern Railroad
(which became Norfolk Southern)
placed tracks in the area.
By 1906, the Ferguson Shops
were constructed, a half-way stop
between Cincinnati and Chattanooga.
The shops could repair steam
engines. At its height, the Shops
employed 600 men, most of whom
worked seven days a week.
“Every steam engine on the railroad
was brought to the Shops for
inspection and repair after 100,000
miles,” Commonwealth Journal
Editor Emeritus Bill Mardis wrote in
a retrospective article.
www.UnitedCumberland.com
18 • In Touch with Southern Kentucky July 2020