Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-01-30
COURTS OPINION
COVERS CASE FULLY
History Of CIay's Ferry Bridge
From Legal Aspect Given By
Court Of Appeals

Receipt by attorneys interested
IN the case Of the opinion of the
Court of Appeals in the C1ay's
Ferry Bridge toll suit, veri6es
newspaper dispatches that the
highest state courts action has f.
nally disposed of the matter so
far as prevention of the collection
of toll through legal action is CON
.cerned. The appellate courts
opinion holds that the right to
collect toll was transferable
right and having bought it the
Clay's Ferry Bridge Company has
the right to collect tolls at its
bridge.
The appellate court reviews the
history of tie bridge in its legal
spects and covers the case fully
i'll its opinion. What it says in
full will be of much interest as the
public has been SO generally inter
csted in this test case. The op-
inion Of the Court of Appeals
reads as follows:
The Court of Appeals of Kentucky.
January %, 1920.
IIadison County etc. Plaintiffs.
On motion of the Defendant to dis
solve Injunction granted by the Cir
cult Judge of the 25th Judicial Dis
trict.
CIay's Ferry Bridge Company, De-
fendant.
Opinion of the Court by Judge Set
lie sustaining motion and dissolving
The object Of this action, brought
in the Madison Circuit Court by the
Plaintiffs, Madison and Fayette Coun-
ties, against the Defendant, Clay's
Ferry Bridge Company, was and is to
prevent that Company from charging
md collecting Of the travelling public
l1onies by way of tolls for the use by
the latter of an iron bridge spanning
the Kentucky River at Clay's Ferry
Kentucky. owned and operated by it.
On the hes i2g of the plaintiffs
rlotiOn therefor, a temporary in
junction was granted by the Madison
Circuit Court restraining the collect
ion 80 defendant of the tolls com
PIE. and the latter, by proper
aa.s.e - plaintiffs and motion
uup aAla tor that purpose, now
eel5s at the hands of the writer of
this opinion, Judge of the Court of
Appeals, the dissolution of that in
junction.
A brief statement of the facts out
I'll, L. E4;r,iiAy, SC
"ontial to a proper understanding of
The questions Of law presented for de-
cision by the motion of defendant tn
dissolve the injunction. The .;ch-
mond ! Lexington Turnpike COM
nany, 50 h.ch was incorporated in 1884
by an &ct of the General Assembly,
under the corpora te powers confer
rcd by its charter constructed the
present turnpike leading from Lexing-
ington to Richmond, which crosses
the Kentucky River at Clays's Ferry.
The charter permitted The erection of
'oil gates and the charging and col
.ecting of tolls by the corporation for
The use Of the turnpike by the travel
ing public, and prescribed the rate of
tolls to be charged. For several
years after its completion the turn
pike was used for travel without
h"idge over the Kentucky River at
Clays Ferry; during which time, as
for many years prior to the construc-
tion of the turnpike, ferry, of which
he Richmond and Lexington Turn
pike Company was not the owner,
was there operated, by the boats of
which all persons, vehicles or stock
finding it necessary in travelling the
turnpike to cross the river, were fer
1-icd over it. In 1886, however, by
mother act of tie General Assembly,
amanatory Of that Of 1884, the
Richmond and Lexington Turnpike
Company was authorized to construct
I bridge across the Kentucky River
at Clays Ferry and necessary APP
DroacheS for the use of the travelling
public in connection with it's turnpike.
Dany to charge and collect tolls for all
@ravel over the bridge, in addition to
'olls collected for travel on the
.urnpike, but limited the bridge tolls
% such amounts as were, or before
the construction of the bridge, had
been paid by users of the turnpike for
ferriage across the river. Land on
each side Of the river for providing
5he necessary approaches to the
bridge, was acquired and the bridge
constructed by the Richmond and
Lexington Turnpike Company shortly
after the passage Of the act; and
from its completion until 1898 the
bridge and approaches were owned
and maintained by it and used by Al
travellers of the pike in crossing Il
Kentucky River by the payment
he turnpike Company of the bri1
.olls fixed by the act of 1886.
virtue of an act or acts of the Cen
eral Assembly of 1898, comforting,
among other enumerated powers, au-
thority upon the fiscal Courts of the
several counties in which turnpikes
were maintained to purchase and
maintain them for the use of the trav-
cling public free of tolls, that part
pike lying in Fayette county was pur5
chased of the Richmond and Lexing
ton Turnpike Company by the Fiscal
Court Of Feyette county, and that part
of the trrpike lying in Madison
county was purchased Of it by the Fis-
cal Court OF Madison county. Deeds
were duly executed by the Richmond
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