Cloverport, Kentucky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cloverport
City
Motto(s):  "Our Home on the Ohio"
Location of Cloverport in Breckinridge County, Kentucky.
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Breckinridge
Area
• Total	1.52 sq mi (3.94 km2)
• Land	1.46 sq mi (3.78 km2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2)
Elevation	489 ft (149 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,119
• Density	765.91/sq mi (295.73/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	40111
Area code(s)	270 & 364
FIPS code	21-15904
GNIS feature ID	0489709

Cloverport is a small city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States. It sits right on the banks of the Ohio River. In 2020, about 1,119 people lived there. Cloverport is known for its interesting history and its connection to the mighty Ohio River.

History of Cloverport

Cloverport started out around 1798 (or maybe 1808) and was first called Joesville. It was named after its founder, Joe Huston. The town was built where Clover Creek meets the Ohio River.

A cool fact from 1816: the family of young Abraham Lincoln, who was seven years old then, crossed the Ohio River here. They were on their way to a new farm in Spencer County, Indiana.

Around 1820, the town got its first school building. This building was also used as a church by Baptist and Methodist groups on Sundays. The town was renamed Cloverport in 1828, taking its name from the nearby Clover Creek. That same year, Cloverport opened its first post office.

Over the years, different churches were built in Cloverport. The Baptist church got its own building in 1829. The Methodists built their church in 1840.

Cloverport was once home to a button factory. This factory used mussel shells from the Ohio River to make buttons. There were also the Victoria Coal Mines nearby. These mines produced coal oil from a special type of coal called cannel coal. This coal oil was even used to light up Buckingham Palace in England!

In 1860, Cloverport officially became a city by an act of the state government. The city grew, adding more homes on the west side of Clover Creek.

The town even had its own newspaper, the Breckenridge News, starting in 1878. It was run by the Babbage family for many years.

In 1892, Cloverport became a big center for the Louisville, Henderson, and St. Louis Railroad. The town raised $20,000 to bring the railroad's maintenance shops here. These shops employed about 200 men! The shops burned down in 1916 but were rebuilt. They closed in 1929 when a bigger railroad company took over. The land was later turned into an athletic park and a waste treatment facility.

A famous person, Wiley Blount Rutledge, who became a United States Supreme Court Justice, was born nearby in 1894. His father was the pastor of Cloverport's Baptist church.

Cloverport faced some tough times with fires. On March 13, 1901, a huge fire destroyed almost all the businesses. It left about half of the residents without homes. Another big fire hit in 1910, destroying many homes on the east side of town.

In 1903, The Murray Roofing Tile Company started a tile plant in the city. This company later became part of American Olean Tile Company.

Today, Cloverport hosts a festival every August. It is named after Sacajawea, a famous Native American woman. People say she might have stopped in the town during her travels. In 2003, the city also got a new riverfront park.

Flooding in Cloverport

Because Cloverport is right on the Ohio River, it has experienced many floods. The Ohio River Flood of 1884 was a very big one. Another major flood happened in 1913, which caused the button factory to flood and many families to leave their homes.

The Ohio River flood of 1937 was the biggest flood ever for Cloverport. About 70% of the town's residents were affected by the floodwaters. The water level reached over 60 feet! This was much higher than any other flood. Cloverport also had large floods in 1997, 2011, and 2018.

Historic Sites to See

Cloverport has some interesting historic places:

• Cloverport Historic District: This area includes most of the old downtown business district.
• Oglesby-Conrad House: A historic home located on U.S. 60.
• Fisher Homestead: Another historic home on U.S. 60.
• Skillman House: Found on Tile Plant Road.

Geography of Cloverport

Cloverport covers an area of about 3.94 square kilometers (1.52 square miles). Most of this area is land, with a small part being water from the Ohio River and Clover Creek.

Population Information

In 2000, there were 1,256 people living in Cloverport. Most of the people were White (96.42%), with a smaller number of African American residents (2.47%).

Education in Cloverport

Students in Cloverport attend schools run by the Cloverport Independent Schools system. Cloverport High School had successful boys' basketball teams, winning championships in 1930 and 1932.

The city also has a public library, which is part of the Breckinridge County Public Library.

In the past, there were other schools in Cloverport. From 1900, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church ran a school. The Ursuline Sisters taught there. They had both a high school and an elementary school until the early 1950s and late 1960s.

Notable People from Cloverport

Many interesting people have connections to Cloverport:

• Joseph Seamon Cotter Sr.: A poet, writer, and community leader.
• Dora Dean: A famous vaudeville dancer.
• James W. Flanagan: A former Lieutenant Governor of Texas.
• Webster Flanagan: A member of the Texas State Senate.
• Rice E. Graves: A Confederate artillery officer.
• Virginia Cary Hudson: A New York Times best-selling author.
• Joseph Holt: He held important government jobs like Commissioner of Patents and Secretary of War.
• Benjamin Franklin Mudge: The first State Geologist of Kansas.
• Eli Houston Murray: A Governor of the Utah Territory.
• Wiley Blount Rutledge: A former Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

See also

In Spanish: Cloverport (Kentucky) para niños