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Corn Island, formerly Dunmore's Island, was a former island in the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illi ...
at head of the
Falls of the Ohio The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Federal status was awarded in 1981. The fa ...
, just north of
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
. Estimates of the size of Corn Island, now submerged, vary with time, as it gradually was eroded and became submerged. A 1780 survey listed its size at . It then extended from what is now Louisville's Fourth to Fourteenth Streets. The first settlement that later became Louisville on the mainland was established on the island in 1778 by George Rogers Clark.


History

Corn Island was first surveyed in 1773 by Virginia Captain
Thomas Bullitt Thomas Bullitt (1730 – February 1778) was a United States military officer from Prince William County, Virginia and pioneer on its western frontier. Early and family life Thomas was born to Benjamin and Sarah (Harrison) Bullitt in 1730 in Princ ...
's party and called ''Dunmore's Island'' (after
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809), known as Lord Dunmore, was a British nobleman and colonial governor in the American colonies and The Bahamas. He was the last colonial governor of Virginia. Lord Dunmore was name ...
, Crown Governor of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
). Surveying expeditions like that helped to provoke
Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. He a ...
the following year. During the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the island was settled on May 27, 1778 by
George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Amer ...
's militia and 60 civilian settlers, who remained behind when Clark's party departed on June 24. Among the surviving names of the families are those of Captain James Patton, Richard Chenoweth, John Tuel, William Faith, and John McManus. Clark established the farming colony on the island as a communication post to support his famous military campaign in the
Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
. Shortly after Roger's departure, Colonel David Rogers and Captain Robert Benham land there on their way to New Orleans to meet with the Spanish governor. In October 1779, both made another short visit to the island on their return trip. When leaving the island a few days later, the group was attacked by
Simon Girty Simon Girty (November 14, 1741 – February 18, 1818) was an American-born frontiersman, soldier and interpreter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who served as a liaison between the British and their Indian allies during the American Revolution. ...
opposite Dayton, Kentucky. The island was renamed Corn Island by Clark, presumably reflecting the early importance of farming. The agricultural name also might have helped further the ruse that it was intended purely as a farming settlement, not as a military post. The settlers remained long after Clark's campaign ended. They moved to the mainland the following year and established Louisville, which traces its foundation in 1778 to the settlement on Corn Island. The island continued to be used for farming and hunting until it was submerged. According to the Draper Manuscripts, which document the earliest pioneer settlers on Corn Island, the first documented non-Native American children born in Kentucky were Isaac Kimbley, born to Andrew Kimbley (1737-1834) and Sarah "Sallie" Bromley Kimbley (1755-1822). Andrew Kimbley fought alongside General George Rogers Clark and was later granted a land grant in Kentucky by Clark. Corn Island was abandoned after 1779 with the establishment of a settlement, named Louisville, on the mainland. From early as 1806, deforestation, erosion, and the mining of its limestone caused the island's footprint to shrink and threatened it with submersion. The Louisville Cement Company extracted rock for cement in the 19th century, and the removal of trees from the island contributed to erosion. By 1889, all that remained was its bedrock base. To improve navigation, drom 1889 to 1891, the Army Corps of Engineers blasted and excavated the rock base of the island until it was submerged. The island was flooded by the construction of a dam in the 1920s. It now lies permanently underwater. According to Jefferson County Clerk, property taxes for land that was Corn Island are currently paid by the James family of Louisville. The Corn Island "land" has been in the family for generations, and it has continued to pay the annual tax bill for it.


Legacy

The annual Corn Island Storytelling Festival in September takes its name from the subject landmark. There is also a
Sea Scout Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...
Group named The Corn Island Pirates in Louisville as well as a cultural resources survey company named Corn Island Archaeology, LLC.


See also

* Fort Nelson (Kentucky) * Fort-on-Shore *
History of Louisville, Kentucky The geology of the Ohio River, with but a single series of rapids halfway in its length from the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to its union with the Mississippi, made it inevitable that a town would grow on the site. Louisvi ...


References


External links


Corn Island Storytelling Festival
{{authority control Former islands of the United States History of Louisville, Kentucky River islands of Kentucky Islands of the Ohio River Landforms of Louisville, Kentucky Former populated places in Kentucky