The Tug Fork is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Big Sandy River, long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed June 13, 2011 in southwestern
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 ...
,
southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
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 ...
. Via the Big Sandy and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
rivers, it is part of the
watershed of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
It is also known as the Tug Fork River. The
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...
settled on "Tug Fork" as the stream's official name in 1975.
The Tug Fork 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 extreme southwestern West Virginia, in southern
McDowell County, near the Virginia state line. It flows in a
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
ing course through the mountains generally northwest, past
Welch. Approximately northwest of Welch, it briefly forms approximately of the state line between West Virginia (northeast) and Virginia (southwest). For the remainder of its course it forms part of the boundary between West Virginia (east) and Kentucky (west), flowing northwest past
Williamson, West Virginia
Williamson is a city in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Tug Fork River. The population was 3,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mingo County, and is the county's largest and most populous city. Willia ...
. It joins the
Levisa Fork
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 dataThe Nati ...
at
Louisa, Kentucky
Louisa is a home rule-class city located at the merger of the Levisa and Tug Forks into the Big Sandy River. It is located in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in the United States, and is the seat of its county. The population was 2,467 at the 2010 ...
to form the Big Sandy.
The river flows through an especially remote mountainous region in its upper course. The river valley between
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–– ...
and
Mingo County, West Virginia
Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic Iroq ...
was the scene of the infamous
Hatfield–McCoy feud
The Hatfield–McCoy feud, also described by journalists as the Hatfield–McCoy conflict, involved two rural American families of the West Virginia–Kentucky area along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River in the years 1863–1891. The Hatfie ...
in the late 19th century.
Toponymist
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
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 ...
writes about the origin of the name "Tug Fork". In 1756 a small army of Virginians and Cherokees conducted the
Sandy Creek Expedition
The Sandy Creek Expedition, also referred to as the Sandy Expedition or sometimes the Big Sandy Expedition, (not to be confused with the Big Sandy Expedition of 1851) was a 1756 campaign of Virginia soldiers and Cherokee warriors into what is no ...
against the Shawnee. At one point they killed and ate two buffaloes and hung their hides on a tree. Later they returned and, being out of provisions, took the hides and cut them into thin strips called "tugs". These they roasted and ate.
[Pendleton, William Cecil, "Chapter V: The Sandy Expedition," in ''History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia: 1748-1920.'' W. C. Hill printing Company, 1920.](_blank)
/ref> For this reason, the story goes, the stream was given the name "Tug." Stewart also points out another possible origin. Even if the story is true, the second explanation may have reinforced the name. In the Cherokee language "tugulu" refers to the forks of a stream, as in the Tugaloo River
The Tugaloo River (originally Tugalo River) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 26, 2011 river that forms the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and South C ...
and other streams in former Cherokee lands named "tug".
See also
*List of Kentucky rivers
List of rivers in Kentucky (U.S. state).
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. All rivers in Kentucky flow to the Mississippi River, nearly all by virtue o ...
*List of Virginia rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Virginia.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries, arranged in the order of their confluence from mouth to source, indented under each larger stream's nam ...
*List of West Virginia rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
List of West Virginia rivers includes streams formally designated as rivers. There are also smaller streams (i.e., branches, creeks, drains, forks, licks, runs, etc.) in the state. Exc ...
* River borders of U.S. states
* Martin County Sludge Spill
References
External links
Hatfield-McCoy: Reunion of the Millennium
{{authority control
Rivers of Kentucky
Rivers of Virginia
Rivers of West Virginia
Borders of West Virginia
Borders of Kentucky
Rivers of Wayne County, West Virginia
Rivers of Mingo County, West Virginia
Rivers of McDowell County, West Virginia
Landforms of Buchanan County, Virginia
Rivers of Pike County, Kentucky
Rivers of Martin County, Kentucky
Rivers of Lawrence County, Kentucky