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Lodging Guide
Attractions Guide
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The History of Clarksville: The
Oldest Anglo-American Town in the Old Northwest
The Oldest Anglo-American Town in the Old Northwest
Chartered in 1783 by the State of Virginia, Clarksville is the oldest
Anglo-American town in the Old Northwest. It is named for General George Rogers
Clark, who in 1778 and 1779 led the campaign which captured the British forts of
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. In recognition of their victory, the Virginia
Assembly in 1783 gave Clark and his troops a 150,000-acre land grant at the
Falls of the Ohio. One-thousand acres were designated as the town of
Clarksville, and Clark was appointed chairman of the town's first board of
trustees.
In 1803, Clark built a cabin in Clarksville overlooking the Falls of the Ohio.
In October the separate parties of explorers recruited by Meriwether Lewis and
Clark's younger brother William joined forces at the Falls of the Ohio for their
journey to explore the Louisiana Purchase. They departed on October 26, 1803,
thus marking Clarksville as the actual point of origin for the Lewis and Clark
Expedition.
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Overshadowed by neighboring Jeffersonville and New Albany, Clarksville grew
slowly during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Indeed, town trustees were
forced to fight off several challenges to Clarksville's charter during the 19th
century. In 1854 a land speculator named Lawson Very attempted unsuccessfully to
establish the town of Ohio Falls on land adjacent to and including undeveloped
portions of the original Clarksville grant.
With the suburban boom that followed World War II, spurred in part by
construction of the interstate highway system, Clarksville's population soared
from fewer than 2,400 persons in 1940 to more than 19,833 in 1990. Through
recent annexation and residential development, its population is now over
20,000. As a result of an accompanying commercial boom, Clarksville is today
Southern Indiana's largest regional retail district, attracting customers within
a radius of 50 miles or more to shopping centers such as Green Tree Mall and
River Falls Mall.
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CLARKSVILLE HIGHLIGHTS
FALLS OF THE OHIO AND DEVONIAN FOSSIL BEDS: The only major natural
obstruction in the Ohio River's 981-mile course from Pittsburgh to the
Mississippi River, the Falls of the Ohio are actually a series of violent rapids
created by an outcropping of limestone that spans the river between Louisville
and southern Indiana. The Falls extend for approximately three miles between the
Clark Memorial Bridge at Jeffersonville and the K & I Bridge at New Albany, and
the river drops approximately 26 feet over this short stretch. During pioneer
times, intrepid boatmen attempting to traverse the falls used one of three
natural passages or "chutes," known as the Kentucky, Middle, and Indiana
(Indian) chutes. The opening of the Louisville & Portland Canal in 1830
significantly improved passage at the falls. Today, with the aid of the McAlpine
Lock and Dam, the canal handles more tonnage each year than the Panama Canal.
A significant feature of the Falls is the Devonian fossil beds. The largest
exposed Devonian fossil beds in the world, this vast coral reef extends from the
Clarksville shore into the river and offers a spectacular display of 375
million-year-old fossils. More than 600 fossil species have been identified
here, nearly 400 for the first time in these beds. Among the major fossil types
found at the Falls are brachiopods, trilobites, lace coral, crinoids,
gastropods, stromatoporoid, and horn and pipe organ corals.
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Because they also serve as habitat for hundreds of species of fish, birds, and
other wildlife, approximately 1,400 acres of the fossil beds and adjacent
portions of the Falls of the Ohio were designated by Congress as a National
Wildlife Conservation Area in 1981. Nine years later, in conjunction with the US
Army Corps of Engineers, the Indiana portions of the fossil beds and the
adjoining George Rogers Clark Homesite were named the Falls of the Ohio State
Park. Responsibility for preservation, maintenance, and interpretation of the
68-acre park was delegated to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
FALLS OF THE OHIO INTERPRETIVE CENTER: The centerpiece of the fossil beds
and the state park is the new Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center. After more
than a generation of dreaming and over five years of planning, the $4.9 million
facility opened in January 1994. Designed to reflect the geological structure of
the fossil beds below, the 16,000-square-foot center is constructed of
alternating horizontal bands of Indiana limestone and earth-toned brick.
A spectacular entry way exhibit features a full-sized mastodon skeleton; figures
of General George Rogers Clark and Madoc, the legendary Welsh prince who
supposedly established a settlement at the Falls of the Ohio in the late 12th
century; and numerous varieties of birds, fish, mammals, and plants representing
the natural history of the Falls of the Ohio. Visitors are introduced to the
Falls by a 14-minute audiovisual presentation projected by laser disc onto a
screen that is seven feet tall and 30 feet wide. More than a hundred topical
exhibits interpret the Falls region's geology, natural history, Native American
culture, European exploration and settlement, and navigation history. Other
facilities include two classrooms, a research library, and wildlife observation
room. Well marked trails through the fossil beds are available for hiking,
bird-watching, and picnicking; a boat ramp is located at the Clark Homesite at
the lower end of the park.
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CLARK'S POINT: In 1803 General George Rogers Clark built a cabin on a
rocky point high above the Falls of the Ohio overlooking the town of Louisville,
which he had founded in 1778. A few months after settling here, he witnessed the
departure of Lewis and Clark's expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase
territory and then welcomed the adventurers upon their return in 1806. Clark
also entertained visitors such as John James Audubon, the famed artist, who made
more than 200 bird sketches while living in the Louisville area; Vice-President
Aaron Burr, who had invested money in Clark's Grant; and numerous Indian chiefs.
In his official capacities, Clark presided over meetings of the Clarksville
Board of Trustees and the board of commissioners responsible for surveying
Clark's Grant. Like his friend President Thomas Jefferson, Clark possessed
considerable scientific curiosity. He conducted extensive studies of Native
American burial sites in the Falls vicinity and engaged in studies of the bones
from Big Bone Lick which drew favorable response from President Jefferson and
marked Clark as an authority on the mastodon.
In 1809 Clark suffered a severe stroke and fell into his fireplace, causing
burns that necessitated the amputation of his right leg. Unable to care for
himself any longer, he moved to Locust Grove, the home of his sister and
brother-in-law in eastern Jefferson County outside Louisville. There he died in
1818. Today Clark's Point is part of the Falls of the Ohio State Park.
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DUELING GROUNDS: In the early 19th century, many politicians,
journalists, and other public figures found it necessary to defend their lives
and character on the field of honor. One of the most famous duels in American
history involved two young and soon-to-be-famous Kentucky politicians, Henry
Clay and Humphrey Marshall. As members of the Kentucky House of Representatives,
Clay and Marshall became involved in a bitter debate regarding tariff policy and
Clay's defense of Aaron Burr against treason charges in a trial presided over by
Marshall's cousin, Chief Justice John Marshall. In the heat of debate, Marshall
called Clay a "liar" and a "poltroon." Clay challenged Marshall to a duel. Since
dueling was illegal in Kentucky, the contestants crossed the Ohio to the Indiana
shore, just below the mouth of Silver Creek. The site was on a portion of early
Clarksville that is now in New Albany. After three exchanges of fire, during
which Clay grazed Marshall just above the navel and Marshall wounded Clay in the
right thigh, the seconds stopped the fight. Five days later the House of
Representatives censured both men while commending their bravery.
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE PLANT AND CLOCK: The Colgate-Palmolive plant is located
in the old Indiana Reformatory for Men. Constructed in the late 19th century,
this Romanesque structure was sold to Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company in 1923.
Reopened the following year as a soap factory, the facility is now Southern
Indiana's oldest civilian employer, producing a broad range of soaps,
detergents, and personal care products. The Colgate Clock is the second largest
timepiece in the world, exceeding London's Big Ben. Measuring 40 feet in
diameter with hands of 16 and 20 1/2 feet respectively, the Colgate Clock has
been a major Southern Indiana landmark for nearly seven decades.
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CAR WORKS: Located between the Colgate-Palmolive plant and the Ohio River
just west of US Highway 31, the "Car Works" is an outstanding collection of over
40 industrial and warehouse buildings which date back to the 1880s and 1890s.
the original Ohio Falls Car and Locomotive Company was founded in 1864. It was
reorganized as the Ohio Falls Car Manufacturing Company in 1876, following
destruction of the first plant by fire in 1872 and suspension of all operations
because of the Panic of 1873. By 1892 the firm employed over 2,300 persons in
the manufacture of railroad cars. In 1899 the firm merged with several others to
form the American Car & foundry Company. Today, the Car Works is the site of the
Falls Cities complex, a highly successful multi-use office/warehouse, retail,
and conference center development.
CONRAIL BRIDGE: Begun in 1916 and completed in 1919, the old Pennsylvania
Railroad Bridge replaced the Louisville Bridge, which had been completed in
1870. The original span was engineered by Albert Fink, the famous Louisville &
Nashville Railroad engineer, and the present bridge was erected on the piers of
Fink's bridge. The original span was the first to cross the Ohio between
Kentucky and Indiana at Louisville, thus opening Louisville to the Indiana
market by rail. The bridge also helped make Louisville and Southern Indiana a
major hub for river, rail, and surface transportation in the eastern half of the
United States.
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