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East Lexington came to be called Helltown because of its attitude of independence toward Lexington Centre. Tensions about religious institutions and who should decide where schools should be grew into a mild rivalry when the burgeoning economic base of East Lexington outpaced the quieter stasis of the downtown. Though the era of sectionalism now seems past in Lexington, East Lexington is still sometimes thought of as the Brooklyn of Lexington.[1]
[1]Kollen, Lexington, 51-60, 104-106.
But the Helltown name took on another meaning when alcohol became an issue. In 1886 in the interest of promoting public sobriety the largely Protestant town government stopped giving liquor licenses.
Nevertheless, East Lexington's immigrant community continued to drink in "kitchen saloons" where gambling sometimes took place, and a few hotels served liquor without a license.
Though the East Lexington Inn was shut down, other establishments popped up and survived as speakeasies in the brief Prohibition era.[1]
[1] Kollen, p. 122.
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