8 of the Most Horrific Disasters In Kentucky’s History
By Jenn Shockley|Published June 01, 2015
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Jenn Shockley
Author
I am somewhat a cliche'. I grew up running around barefoot on a farm in Kentucky.
I love writing, art, sunshine, all animals and my incredibly patient husband, who tolerates my "crazy animal lady" side.
Kentucky has suffered some devastating disasters over the centuries. Some of which were purely Mother Nature’s wrath. Others were simply mankind’s own ignorance: be it racism, a disturbed mentality, or self-destructive rivalries. Incidents like these are not front page stories, proudly displayed, but they are a part of our colorful history. Every state has experienced death, destruction, and disturbances. We are no different.
Here are 8 of the most horrific disasters ever to swoop across the Bluegrass State:
8. The New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 and 1812, is known as the largest quake in the United States. It gave a devastating shake to Western Kentucky from the beautiful Appalachians to what is now Lexington.
7. Hurricane Debra in 1959 and ripped up the US Gulf Coast during the Atlantic’s hurricane season. Kentucky and its surrounding states were shook by damaging winds, hail, large amounts of rainfall, and thunder storms.
6. The Great Ohio River Flood of 1937 took out the famous Rose Island Amusement Park on the Indiana side. The downtown business and residential district was devastated, causing many businesses to move eastward above the flood lines. In Paducah, the river breached the 50 foot flood stage and capped out around 60.8 feet on February 2nd. Paducah has commemorated the disaster with plaques around the area, along with some amazing artwork.
5. Kentucky was assaulted on April 3rd and 4th of 1974 by a barrage of tornados. They were part of what was called the “Super Outbreak”, which consisted of 11 FOs, 37 F1s, 30 F2s, 35 F3s, 23 F4s and 7 F5s. There were well over 100 reported deaths and an alarming amount of devastation and destruction to Louisville, Brandenburg, Georgetown, Somerset, Mercer, Harrodsburg, Danville, and many other counties and towns. There was also over 10,000,000 board feet of Daniel Boone National Forest ripped apart.
4. The beautiful Eastern Appalachian Mountains are renowned for their “documented” and extremely violent feuds, which took place during the late 19th century. Death by gun fight, ambush, arson, duels, and assassination were common place. Some of these feuds began with the civil war, others were over something simple, like a pig or property lines. One of the most infamous is the Hatfield and McCoy feud.
3. The Great Flood of 1913 devastated over 21 states, including Kentucky. Flooding disrupted the daily lives of business owners and residents, and many properties were destroyed or damaged. There was 66 mile per hour winds in Louisville. There were over 650 deaths confirmed, but researchers believe there to be more.
2. August 5th, 1855 will always be known as Bloody Monday in Louisville. This violent day in Kentucky’s history was fueled by an election day, along with rivalry between the Democrats, and what was once the “Know Nothing Party”. It is written that Protestant mobs, encouraged by the Know Nothing party, attacked and assaulted German and Irish Catholic communities. There were only 5 people indicted, but 22 were reported dead, with countless injured, hospitalized and homeless, as many homes were burned down.
1. In 1866, there was an infamous race related riot in Gallatin County, in which over 500 Caucasians forced 100s of African Americans from the county. From 1867 to 1871 there were 115 “reported” shootings, lynching, and whippings associated with the Klu Klux Klan. It is assumed many other incidents went unreported.
Life in Kentucky today is a lot more peaceful then it was historically. We still have some horrific ice storms, tornadoes and occasional flash flooding, but nothing like it was in the past. The majority of the Bluegrass has became a melting pot of diverse cultures, all working together to improve our communities. One cannot say for sure that clan feuds no longer exist, but none have made national news for some time.
Kentucky has had an interesting struggle to get to where it is today. If you can think of any other disasters from our past, please feel free to chime in. Things get a little foggy past the late 1700s.
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