Editor Note: Previously published in The Journal News and posted with permission from author Jim Krause.
The City of Middletown is known for many things, but did you know that it was the location of the last mule drawn street railway in the United States? Middletown resident C.F. Gunkel noted that the Cincinnati Hamilton & Dayton railroad had bypassed the town of Middletown in favor of placing a station in the town of Madison, later known as West Middletown. At the time the CH&D was initially surveyed and built in 1850, Middletown was but a small community. By 1879 though, Middletown had become a substantial town with a robust industrial presence and growing population. Gunkel built a horse car railway from the CH&D depot in Madison, crossing the Great Miami River through Middletown on what is now Central Avenue to the Big Four Railroad depot on the eastern outskirts of the town.
This 1.6 mile route, which ran from west to east would pass through the downtown district of Middletown. The hike from either the CH&D or the Big Four depots to the center of town was just too much for a weary, suitcase laden traveler. Completed in 1880, the line sported four passenger cars, two that were open for summer and two closed for winter. Originally there were eight horses, some of which were later replaced by mules assigned for morning, afternoon and evening duties. Gunkel found that mules ate less and pulled just as well as horses, thus reducing operating costs. The tinkling bells on the horses and mules were an added attraction in downtown Middletown, making it seem like Christmas all year long. The fare was five cents.
Around 1897 the north / south interurban line reach Middletown on Main Street with an exclusive franchise. Due to the high speed of the interurban operation, the road did not want a horse or mule powered passenger car crossing its line. This required the Middletown & Madison to sever the line and run as two separate operations.
The line was sold to the Cincinnati Hamilton & Dayton Railroad in 1895 who wanted to improve passenger service, perhaps to the detriment of the competing Big Four. As a result of the Great Miami River flood of 1913, the line and bridge from downtown Middletown to the CH&D depot in West Middletown was destroyed. Thus, the western portion of the line was subsequently abandoned as the cost to repair was too great. The CH&D, then practically insolvent and corporate owner, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad who was funding the CH&D’s reconstruction efforts, sold the Middletown & Madison Street Railway line to Isaac Silvermann in 1914. After the 1913 flood the remaining eastern section of the line only served the Big Four depot to downtown Middletown. Silvermann would continue to operate the remaining line with only two passenger cars and five mules until May 4, 1918.
Executives of the American Rolling Mill Company, later known as Armco Steel, were said to be so embarrassed by having such a primitive form of transportation in their hometown that they spearheaded an effort to replace the mule drawn cars with a more modern form of transportation. It didn’t help matters that the line became famous in the Midwest having appeared on postcards of the day with the mocking caption, “Modern Rapid Transit, Middletown,
Ohio”.
Thus, shortly after 10 PM on May 4, 1918, the last mule team was unhitched from service and replaced by a “modern” bus. This could very well have been the last mule powered street railway in the United States, a line in New York having folded in July 1917. There is no trace of the line today, the owner refused to take the rails up due to costs and now the roadbed has long since been paved over.
