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Green River Reflections: Green River - Our Sense of Place This is the first in a planned monthly series of articles by Dr Richard "Richie" Kessler of Campbellsville University. Richie is a Green County native, and is related to the Kesslers of the Portland area of Adair County. By Richard K. Kessler Forever Green, Inc. and Campbellsville University There is no better place to start a series than at the beginning. Before the incursion of man there was the River. Although impeded over time by man, the Green River continues to flow even as you read this article. The mainstem of Green River is akin to the human aorta, pulsing with life-sustaining flows, bringing nutrients and oxygen-rich waters downstream and occasionally leaving behind productive sediments in its floodplains. The main trunk is supplemented along its length by numerous tributaries with names like Russell, Pitman, Brush, Little Barren, and Lynn Camp. Further downstream deep arteries never see the light of day until reaching the River via springs such as 300 Hundred Springs, Gorin Mill from Hidden River Cave, McCoy Blue Hole and the Echo River of Mammoth Cave. The rich bounty of life brought forth by the Green River, including vast mussel beds and fish as well as dense bottomland forests, must have seemed like a fertile crescent to aboriginal and pre-historic Native Americans who worked along its banks, collected mussels and hunted its forests and associated fields (1). Remnants of this activity are present in caves and rock shelters even today although, sadly, many such sites have been destroyed or pilfered, these treasure troves of information sitting in silence in a collector's box or under a layer of dust on a shelf. Early European explorers in the mid 1700's described the valley of the "Rio Verde" as "the most magnificent broadleaf forest in the world". Maintained by fire, both natural and by the hands of man, the barrens region was described by French botanist Michaux as the "Great Kentucky Meadow". What a welcome sight the rolling hills and karst plains surrounding the upper Green River must have been to weary settlers emerging from the Appalachian and Cumberland Mountains after traversing the Wilderness Road! Early records of settlements like the Longhunter's Camp Knox were a testament to the area's abundant natural resources. Other settlement's followed including Glover's Station (Greensburg), Vance's Station, Pittman Station and Munfordville (1). In spite of logging and land-clearing for homesteads and agriculture, as well as massive hardwood harvests to support an iron ore industry, John Muir's mid-1800's visit to the region on his famous walk to the Gulf of Mexico prompted him to comment on the beautiful springs and impressive oaks in this slice of Kentucky (2). Early investigations of this area in the mid 1800's as a potential route for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad described the land as being "embraced within rich timber belts and iron ore" (3). Accordingly, numerous grist and lumber mills like Montgomery Mill at the Narrows of Pitman Creek or the 300 Springs lumber mill were established. These mill sites are just remnants today, much like our vast mature forests of yesterday. Today, truly mature forests are literally few and far between in the upper Green River. Sites such as Wyatt Jeffries Woods (a.k.a. Exie Woods), Glen Lily, Westwind Farm and others are a testament to the families and individuals dedicated to sustainable forest management with an eye towards the future. Footnotes: 1. Crocker, Helen B. 1976. The Green River of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky Press. 98 pp. 2. Muir, John. 1916. A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf. Houghton-Mifflin Publishing. 112 pp.Herr, Kincaid. 1964. 3. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 1850-1963 (revised edition). The University of Kentucky Press, copyright 2000, 402 pp. Forever Green, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the awareness and appreciation of the upper Green River through education and the promotion of sound stewardship practices. To learn more visit greenriveroflife.org. This story was posted on 2018-01-09 12:31:05
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Dr. Martin Luther King honors begin Sat, 13 Jan 2018 Adair CJE Mike Stephens guest speaker to C/AC Chamber today Link: Lex18.com has story on Taylor County fatal crash John Waddell speaks to Rotary 8 Jan 2018 Cattlemen's Chili contest tonight, 8 Jan 2018, winner gets $100 Adair Co. Fiscal Court regular meeting, 09 Jan 2018 - AGENDA Adair County CJE announce MLK Day closings - 15 Jan 2018 Jordan Alves: Remembering Bobby Brockman (1956-2018) Adair Clerk's office announces schedule for MLK Day The Gospel Sounds at Hadley Community Church 14 Jan 2018 View even more articles in topic News |
 
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