This photo shows Prestonsburg as it looked in 1891, soon after the completion of the new Floyd County Courthouse, visible in the middle distance. The camera is stationed on the hill above Earl Street and is pointed west by northwest. In the foreground is the Mount Sterling--Pound Gap Road, the region`s only state road. Built in 1836, it was good enough to support carriage traffic, at least in dry weather, but most travel during this period was by saddle horse.

In 1896 Prestonsburg banker A. J. Davidson and his wife hitched up their carriage and traveled to Tazewell, Virginia on this road. The 150-mile trip required three overnight stops. (Photo courtesy of Alice Lloyd College Photo Archives.)