Rumsey is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in McLean County,

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 ...

, United States.

History

Rumsey had its start in the 1830s when a lock and dam was built at that point on the Green River. Rumsey was incorporated in 1839. It is named either for Kentucky

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Edward Rumsey or his uncle,

James Rumsey James Rumsey (1743 – December 21, 1792) was an American mechanical engineer chiefly known for exhibiting a boat propelled by machinery in 1787 on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in present-day West Virginia before a crowd of local notables ...

, who invented the

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

. Historian Otto Rothert records that the most commonly accepted explanation is that the community's citizens wanted to name it in honor of Edward Rumsey, but Rumsey declined their offer out of modesty, whereupon they compromised by retaining the name "Rumsey" and declaring it to be in honor of his uncle, James.

Geography

The community is located in the central part of McLean County at coordinates . It is located along the southern banks of the Green River opposite county seat

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia * Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kentucky * Calhoun, Louis ...

. Kentucky Routes 81 and

138 138 may refer to: *138 (number) *138 BC *AD 138 *138 (New Jersey bus) *138 Tolosa 138 Tolosa is a brightly coloured, stony background asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by French astronomer Henri Joseph Per ...

traverses the community.

References

Unincorporated communities in McLean County, Kentucky Unincorporated communities in Kentucky {{McLeanCountyKY-geo-stub