The Licking River. A History - Joe Clark

The Licking River: A History

Flowing from the hills of Eastern Kentucky to its meeting with the Ohio River at Covington, the Licking River has shaped the land and the lives of those who lived along its banks for thousands of years.

Long before Kentucky became a state, Native hunters followed buffalo trails to the river's famous salt licks. Later came explorers, settlers, and soldiers who fought along its waters during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Towns rose along its banks, ferries carried travelers across its currents, and flatboats loaded with corn, hemp, and whiskey drifted toward the markets of the Ohio Valley.

But the Licking River has never been a quiet witness to history. Floods swept away homes and bridges. Families lost loved ones to its waters. Entire communities disappeared when the valley was flooded to create Cave Run Lake in the twentieth century.

In The Licking River: A History, author Joe Clark traces the story of this remarkable river from ancient times to the present day. Drawing from archival records, newspapers, oral histories, and local memory, Clark explores:

• Native cultures and the salt licks that gave the river its name
• Frontier settlement and the dangers of life along the early Kentucky wilderness
• The Revolutionary War and the infamous Battle of Blue Licks
• The growth of towns, ferries, mills, and industry along the river
• Floods and disasters that reshaped communities
• The creation of Cave Run Lake and the valley it submerged
• The wildlife, recreation, and traditions that still define the river today

Part environmental history, part frontier story, and part tribute to the people who lived beside it, The Licking River: A History preserves the memory of a waterway that has shaped Kentucky for centuries.

For historians, genealogists, anglers, and anyone who has stood along its banks, this is the story of a river that continues to flow through the heart of Kentucky.