Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Originally, the mouth of Beargrass Creek reached the Ohio River in what became down-
town Louisville, with the creek and the river forming a narrow peninsula. After the creek
was cut off, the lower creek bed was filled in, while the upper part became known as “the
Point.” Beset by recurrent flooding, the area was mostly one of small cottages, such as this
one, wrecked by the 1937 flood. Ultimately, the city ruled the area unsafe for residential use
and turned a portion of it into a park.
In 1820, Shippingport, located on a peninsula of land at the Lower Falls of the Ohio River
just downstream from Louisville, boasted 500 residents. But the digging of the Louisville
and Portland Canal (1828) turned the town into an island regularly flooded by the Ohio
River. Only a few hardy residents remained when the 1937 flood hit, demolishing this house
and others. Finally, in the 1950s, expansion at the McAlpine Locks and Dam erased the last
sign of the little town.
