Old Burnside

by Harriette Simpson Arnow

In the early years of this century, Burnside, Kentucky, was a bustling community perched on and above the floodplain formed by the Cumberland River and the South Fork. It was a center for shipping by rail and steamboat packet, and its lumber mills sent their products all over the world. The lower part of the town―once the heart of its economic being―now lies beneath the waters of Lake Cumberland, and the remaining streets above no longer resound with the clatter and roar of older and busier times.

Harriet Simpson Arnow moved to Burnside with her parents and sisters in 1913, a few months before her fifth birthday. She recreates for us the sights and sounds of the town as she sets her childhood memories against the history of the region from the days of early settlers until Wolfe Creek Dam was built, creating the hundred-mile-long Lake Cumberland. Arnow charms the reader with her account of what it was like to be child in such a place and time, describing the fascination of the general stores of the town, the grand sight of the Seven Gables Hotel, the excitement of school, and the ever-interesting river and railroad traffic, all of which lent diversion to a life that sometimes seemed overburdened with household chores and errand running.

Though much of old Burnside has disappeared, the way of life Arnow describes is an important part of the fabric of the history of Kentucky and the nation. Evoking vivid scenes of river and railroad, lumber mill and country store, Arnow recreates for us with great artistry a long-vanished place and time.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

146 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1977

About the author

Harriette Simpson Arnow (July 7, 1908 – March 22, 1986) was an American novelist, who lived in Kentucky and Michigan.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Zay Pinto · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first memoir I’ve ever read, Old Burnside didn’t impress me much. The best part of the whole book was the information given about the history of the area prior to the introduction of the author. There was a lot of unique things that I learned, which naturally spurred my interest.

Old Burnside is filled with many details of not-so-important subjects. This book would be great for a family history, I guess. There’s a lot about home life and little about Burnside itself as a town. It kind of aims too close to home. It was a quick read, thankfully, but it missed the main picture, in my opinion.

[Maria Honsaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been to Cumberland Lake a handful of times but never considered its history. This memoir tells of the development of the Burnside area of the Cumberland Valley. It has interesting history and facts as well as a well told remembering of Harriette’s time growing up there. It’s not necessarily gripping, more of a comfortable read.