Bronson and Egypt

A History Article by Cindy Leach

Many small communities were built to service the railroads that hauled the abundant lumber and stones of the area to markets worldwide. Bronson and Egypt were two of those towns.

Bronson is located three miles from Morehead on the C&O railroad which came through the area in 1898, in the vicinity of Green Valley Acres on US 60 West. Bronson was the home of the W.F. Bronson & Company Lumber Company. The company was established on February 1, 1898 and their main product was railroad ties and wood bark. W.F. Bronson came from Panted Post, New York, and his associate, George C. Wilcox, was from Louisville, Kentucky.

The area of Green Valley Acres was originally the farm of Willie Cornett. The land was divided into 22 lots and sold at auction on July 22, 1961. It became a subdivision.

Egypt was two to three miles from Rockville and was a tie point for the C&O Railroad. It transported lumber and bark which it received from inland points. It is now the Cincinnati Branch area. There was a night club there called the Trocadero, but is closed when the county went dry in 1943. It was eventually torn down, and the area is now duplex apartments. Just up the road toward Farmers was a bootleg establishment called the Clock. It was about a mile from Lakeview Heights and is now just a wide spot off US 60 West.

Sources:

History of Rowan County, Grace Crosthwaite.

Rowan County Place Names, Robert Rennick

Facebook, Donna Mauk and Joe Clark.