Green River (Kentucky) - History

History

Following the Revolutionary War, many veterans staked claims along the Green River as payment for their military service. The river valley also attracted a number of ne'er-do-wells, earning it the dubious nickname Rogue's Harbor.

In 1842, the Green River was canalized, with a series of locks and dams being built to create a navigable channel as far inland as Bowling Green, Kentucky. Four locks and dams were constructed on the Green River, and one lock and dam was built on the Barren River, a tributary that passed through Bowling Green.

During the American Civil War, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan conducted daring raids through the Green River country, from which he reached into southern Indiana and Ohio.

In 1901, two additional locks and dams were opened on the Green River, which allowed river traffic to Mammoth Cave. In 1941, Mammoth Cave National Park was established, and the two upper locks and dams closed in 1950. In 1965, Lock and Dam #4 at Woodbury failed; this was the dam that locked both the Green and Barren rivers.

In 1969, the United States Army Corps of Engineers impounded a section of the river, forming 8,200-acre (33 km2) Green River Lake. The lake is now the primary feature of Green River Lake State Park.

There is still one Indian tribe living on the Green River: the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky. In 1983 Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. recognized the Southern Cherokee Nation as an Indian tribe.