Corn Island (Kentucky)
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Corn Island is a now-vanished island in the Ohio River, at head of the Falls of the Ohio, just north of Louisville, Kentucky. Heavy excavation of rock for cement was done in the 19th century, and the island was flooded by the construction of a dam in the 1920s. It now lies permanently underwater.
Corn Island was first surveyed in 1773 by Thomas Bullitt's party and then called Dunmore's Island (after John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, Crown Governor of Virginia). The island was settled on May 27, 1778 by George Rogers Clark's militia and 60 civilian settlers, who remained behind when Clark's party departed on June 24. Clark established the farming colony on the island as a communication post to support his military campaign in Illinois[1].
The Island was soon renamed Corn Island, presumably reflecting the early importance of farming. The settlers moved to the mainland the following year and established Louisville, but the island continued to be used for farming and hunting until it was submerged.
The annual Corn Island Storytelling Festival in September takes its name from the subject landmark.
There is also a Sea Scout Group named The Corn Island Pirates[2] in Louisville.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 225th Anniversary of George Rogers Clark and the Fall of Fort Sackville Exhibit. Retrieved on April 19, 2006.
- ^ The Corn Island Pirates Webpage. Retrieved on August 13, 2006.
[edit] External links
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