The Levisa Fork (also known as the Levisa Fork River or the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River) is a tributary of the
Big Sandy River, approximately long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed June 13, 2011 in southwestern
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 ar ...
and eastern
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Overview
It rises in the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
of
southwestern Virginia, in eastern
Buchanan County, near
Grundy. It flows west into
Pike County, Kentucky
Pike County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 58,669. Its county seat is Pikeville. The county was founded in 1821. With regard to the sale of alcohol, it is classified as a moist county–†...
, where it is impounded to form
Fishtrap Lake
Fishtrap Lake is a reservoir in Pike County, Kentucky. Dedicated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, the lake was formed by the impounding of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River at the 195-foot-high Fishtrap Dam () by the United States Arm ...
reservoir. After collecting the
Russell Fork
The Russell Fork, 1975 Board on Geographic Names decision is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Levisa Fork in southwestern Virginia and sout ...
, it flows northwest through
Pikeville and
Prestonsburg. The natural course of the river formed a loop surrounding downtown Pikeville, but
a massive earthmoving project completed in 1987 rerouted the river to bypass the city. At
Paintsville
Paintsville () is a home rule-class city along Paint Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,459 during the 2010 U.S. Census.
History
A Paint Lick Station was referred to in ...
it turns to the north-northeast, flowing through
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
and
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
counties. It joins the
Tug Fork
The Tug Fork is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 in southwestern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern ...
from the southwest at
Louisa on the
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
state line to form the Big Sandy.
The Levisa Fork was historically an important river for
log driving
Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America.
Histor ...
. The river is partly navigable for commercial purposes through a series of
locks
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
. In the early 1900s the river was navigable as far as Pikeville.
Variant names, according to the USGS, include Louisa River, Louisa Fork, Lavisa Fork, and West Fork, in addition to Levisa Fork River and Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The official name according to the USGS is Levisa Fork.
According to Robert F. Collins of the
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
, 18th-century explorer
Dr. Thomas Walker had named the nearby
Kentucky River
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentuc ...
the Louisa River, after
Princess Louisa, sister of
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S..html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Old_Style_and_New_St ...
(Walker had just named the
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
a month or two earlier). According to
George R. Stewart
George Rippey Stewart (May 31, 1895 – August 22, 1980) was an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His 1959 book, ''Pickett's Charge'', a detailed history of the final ...
, frontiersmen "forgot" who it was named for and it changed over time to Levisa. An alternate story is that one of
Ephraim Vause' daughters, Levicee, was carried away by the
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
after the attack on
Fort Vause in 1756. She had placed her name on the trunks of beech and sycamore trees as she had been carried along, thus giving her name to Levisa Fork.
[Johnson, Patricia Givens]
William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots
lace of publication not identified
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread (yarn), thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, suc ...
B.D. Smith, 1976. Page 51.
On February 28, 1958, a Floyd County
school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
tumbled into the Levisa Fork after a collision with a wrecker truck, leading to one of the worst bus disasters in American history.
See also
*
List of rivers of Kentucky
*
List of rivers of Virginia
References
* Stewart, George R. "Names on the Land". (1967)
* Collins, Robert F. "A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest". (1975)
{{authority control
Rivers of Kentucky
Rivers of Virginia
Rivers of Johnson County, Kentucky
Rivers of Pike County, Kentucky
Rivers of Floyd County, Kentucky
Rivers of Lawrence County, Kentucky
Rivers of Buchanan County, Virginia