Lusk's Ferry was a place where pioneers crossed the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

into

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Some sources say that

Golconda, Illinois Golconda is a city in and the county seat of Pope County, Illinois, United States, located along the Ohio River. The population was 630 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is part of the Golconda Historic District. History The city is named ...

was once called "Lusk's Ferry". Others say that the name properly refers to the place across the River, in

Livingston County, Kentucky Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,888. Its county seat is Smithland and its largest community is Ledbetter. The county was established in 1798 from land taken f ...

. Lusk's Ferry was a terminus of the Lusk's Ferry Road, an early overland route connecting the

with

Fort Kaskaskia Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site is a 200-acre (0.8 km2) park near Chester, Illinois, on a blufftop overlooking the Mississippi River. It commemorates the vanished frontier town of '' Old Kaskaskia'' and the support it gave to George R ...

. In his conquest of Illinois in 1778,

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

crossed the Ohio River at

Fort Massac Fort Massac (or Fort Massiac) is a French colonial and early National-era fort on the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, United States. Its site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. History The Spanish explorer ...

. He then marched north a short distance to the Lusk's Ferry Road, and from there to Fort Kaskaskia. In 1798, Major James Lusk moved the ferry across the River to Illinois. The Major died while building a road into the interior of Illinois. His widow, Sarah, then took over the ferry business. The town on the Illinois side became known as "Sarahville" by 1816. The name was changed to Golconda in 1817. In 1817, the '' Western Gazetteer'' listed two places to cross the Ohio River and make the overland journey to the Territorial Capital at

Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois on the Mississippi River. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, the village was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country and was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population p ...

. The shortest overland journey was from Lusk's Ferry. From 1838 to 1839, thousands of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

were forced to cross the Ohio at Lusk's Ferry on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

Lusk Creek Lusk Creek is a creek located in southeastern Illinois. It is a tributary of the Ohio River, which it joins at Golconda. Lusk Creek flows through the Lusk Creek Canyon, which is perhaps the wildest place in Illinois. Only a single bridge crosse ...

joins the Ohio River at Golconda. The creek flows through a deep canyon which is crossed by few roads. It is the site of the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area.

References

External links

Old Trails of KentuckyLusk Creek Wilderness Area
{{coord, 37, 22, 00, N, 88, 28, 58, W, region:US-IL, display=title Geography of Pope County, Illinois Crossings of the Ohio River Pre-statehood history of Illinois Water transportation in Illinois

See also

References

External links