The Falls of the Ohio is the only rocky obstacle on the 981 mile-long Ohio River, dropping 26-feet over 2.5 miles. The rocks are Middle Devonian limestone, heavily laden with corals, sponges and shells, of which some 600 species have been described. Although the fossil bed exposure has been reduced by the McAlpine Dam, in the summer and fall visitors can walk on the fossil beds and see them in great abundance.

The hazardous falls attracted settlers who founded Louisville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Indiana. The development of both communities is tied to George Rogers Clark, a Continental Army general during the Revolutionary War who was instrumental in securing the Northwest Territories from the British. In 1803, he settled at “Clark’s Point,” the location with the most sweeping view of the falls.

The former general was a friend of Thomas Jefferson, and the two men shared an interest in natural history and paleontology. Clark regularly sent fossils and bones to Jefferson for study, and these artifacts fed Jefferson’s curiosity about the largely unexplored west.

In October 1803, George Rogers Clark’s younger brother, William Clark, joined Meriwether Lewis to lead Thomas Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery to the Pacific Northwest. Many of the expedition’s men have ties to the Falls of the Ohio area, and Lewis and Clark returned to the area before going their separate ways in 1806.

The Falls of the Ohio State Park offers opportunities to discover the natural and human history of the area with a comprehensive interpretive center. The museum features many exhibits and an award-winning 14-minute movie about the rich heritage of the Falls of the Ohio.

Call (812) 280-9970 or visit http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/ for more information concerning operating hours, fees, directions, and additional information about the falls and its history.

Credits and Sources:

Content for this Next Exit History site sponsored by the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. For more information visit http://lewisandclark.org/.

Betts,Edwin M. and James A. Bear, Jr., eds. The Family Letters of Thomas Jefferson. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1966.

Falls of the Ohio State Park. “Home, Visitor Information, Discovery Center, Interpretive Center, and Contact Us.” Accessed September 2, 2014.  http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/.

Furtwangler, Albert. Acts of Discovery: Visions of America in the Lewis and Clark Journals.  Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993.

Jackson, Donald, ed.  Letters of the Lewis and Clark Exposition with Related Documents and Notes: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1978.

Lewis, Meriwether, William Clark, and Bernard De Voto. The Journals of Lewis and Clark, foreword by Steven Ambrose.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Co., 1997.

Miller, Charles A.  Jefferson and Nature: An Interpretation. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1988.