Spottsville, Kentucky

Spottsville, Kentucky, a barely-a-town in Henderson County, is the first place I ever lived, and I spent every Friday night and Saturday there for the next 10 years after I moved away, to the "big city" of Henderson, when I was almost three-years-old - and then various weekends well into my 20s. Spottsville may be tiny, but it was a huge part of my life in the late 1960s and all through the 1970s.

As of the 2020 census, Spottsville had a population of just 274 people. It used to be bigger, though I'm not sure it ever had more than 600 residents.

It bothers me that there is not a comprehensive history and profile of Spottsville, Kentucky online, not even on Wikipedia, certainly not one that comes up in an Internet search, so I decided to make one on my own web site.

First People

Spottsville is about four miles from the confluence of the Green and Ohio Rivers. The area has been inhabited by various people for thousands of years. Since Spottsville is near the Angel Mounds outside of Newburgh, Indiana, across from the area on the Ohio and Green Rivers, and since there are records of mounds being destroyed in Henderson in the 1800s and 1900s, it can be concluded that people of the widespread Mississippian culture that developed around AD 900 were also in the Spottsville area. The mound builders of the Middle Mississippian culture lived in what became southwestern Indiana around AD 1100 and remained there until AD 1450, so people of that same culture were probably in Spottsville too. One hundred years later, the groups in the Spottsville area were called the Kashinampo, the Quizqui, and the Chiska Cherokee by European colonizers: the area that is now Spottsville was visited by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1541, and his army was attacked near the Ohio River by local tribal members.

Long after that, the Cherokee East, Shawnee, Osage and Miami peoples were in the area, often at the same time.

As I child, my brother regularly found arrowheads on the land my grandparents owned in Spottsville, which ran along an unnamed creek that ran behind their house, about a mile from the Green River. For some reason, those artifacts weren't kept. Had they been, of course I would have turned them over to tribal representatives. The area remains largely unexcavated for First People's artifacts.

European American History, Growth & Decline

Spottsville, Kentucky was named for Major Samuel Spotts, who is said to have shot the first gun at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, which was fought between the British Army and the United States Army.

In 1833, before the locks were constructed at the falls, it was called Knight’s Falls, and the only buildings on the banks were rude shacks which were owned and occupied by men who were engaged in quarrying rock. Another name it went by was “Shanty”, derived from the fact that the quarrymen had built a number of shacks in which to live while they worked tock. It was afterwards known as “The Locks”.

As early as 1829, Major Spotts owned most of the land lying on the Green River near the Ohio. Later, in 1833, Robert Scott, Major Spott’s brother-in-law, sank a shaft for Major Spotts. The object was to float coal to New Orleans, but it didn't work out and little coal reached that market. Spots spent several summers prior to his death with his brother-in-law, in what is now called Spottsville. Spotts was appointed to a federal position in New Orleans, but during the summer of 1833, died of cholera. He was buried somewhere in the New Orleans area, and he is memorialized at the Chalmette National Cemetery in Chalmette, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Spotts' wife is buried in a cemetery in Spottsville, but I don't know her name nor if her grave is marked.

In 1850, the place took on the name of “Spottsville”. Major Spotts’ children, Harry and Jim, their wives, Mrs. Lydia McBride and Miss Lydia Scott, gave it that name in honor of their famous father / father-in-law.

Most of aforementioned information in this section comes from a web site called the History of Spottsville.

Another web site that doesn't exist anymore (see bottom of this page) says that a number of Spottsville chimneys toppled during the earthquake of October 31, 1895.

Spottsville built up its coal interests and in time became a somewhat flourishing town. From 1904 to 1911 as many as 116 men of the Green River Coal Company mined coal, including underground shafts, in Spottsville. The Pittsburgh Coal Company operated a 75-man coal camp in Spottsville from 1911 to 1924. And my grandfather worked for the Wolf Hills Coal Company, owned by Leo King, Sr. and Gus Johns (and I can find no record of this company, or Gus Johns), prior to World War II.

Physical Attributes & Landmarks

"Downtown" Spottsville sits on the banks of the Green River. You can see the Green River Lock & Dam from US 60 Spottsville bridge as it crosses the river. You can also the Spottsville Railroad CSX Swing Bridge, a through truss swing bridge, also crossing the Green River. The swing bridge dates from the 1880s in its original foundation. The current major metal span structure dates back to its 1926 reconstruction. The railroad line that crosses it runs from Louisville, Kentucky to Henderson. According to Bridge Hunter the bridge was built by the Keystone Bridge Co of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The bridge turns in the middle, creating two big gaps for barges to come through on the river, then turns back to restore the track lines for trains.

The earliest bridges in Spottsville that crossed the Green River, for both the highway and the railroad, were marked by collapse and the loss of lives, including a 1904 train wreck.

A payment dispute during the original railroad bridges' construction prompted the Keystone Bridge Company to place six men at the bridge in 1889 to prevent its use. The men physically threatened the railroad men and told them to leave. The Keystone contingent then swung open the span, started removing the rails and ties from the upstream end, and began throwing them in the river. They had stripped it and were headed for the much heavier downstream end when the overbalanced bridge broke in two and toppled steel, ties and men into the icy river below. Some men had jumped in the river and grab railroad ties when they saw the bridge tipping, about six or seven clung to the middle of the bridge, and others went down with the bridge. The steamboat General Dawes had just passed under the bridge and escaped disaster by only a few yards. The steamboat immediately stopped and put out lifeboats. The tugboat Corinne and skiffs at Spottsville also deployed for water rescues. Initial reports said 20 to 35 men had drowned, but only one body was found, although other men were injured.

The Keystone company rebuilt the span after settling the dispute. The bridge opened to traffic March 11, 1889.

The Texas railroad, as that line was first called, later went bankrupt and was reorganized as the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railroad in 1896. At 8:38 p.m. on Aug. 8, 1904, it had its worst train wreck in its history when an eastbound freight train plunged into the river while the Spottsville swing bridge was open. The locomotive turned a somersault on the way down and was followed by about ten cars. It’s unclear how many fatalities there were. Survivors, many of whom were riding illegally, said two or three Black people had been riding in boxcars ahead of them and went into the river. Their bodies were never found. There were also reports of four white "hobos" who were never found.

U.S. 60 had to wait until the end of 1931 to get a bridge at Spottsville. And that construction project also proved deadly when the uncompleted span collapsed about 5 p.m. July 8, 1931. The accident dropped four men into the water along with tons of steel and wood, according to articles in The Gleaner and the Courier. There was just one survivor.

I created a series of screen captures of driving over the US 60 bridge in Spottsville from Google Streetview before the bridge was replaced in 2022. I wanted to be able to remember what Spottsville looked like for most of my life. The bridge was so narrow that it wasn't unusual for people to have their driver's side mirrors destroyed by opposing traffic.

Spottsville still has an elementary school, far outside of "downtown", on US Highway 60. But Spottsville used to have a high school as well. The first version opened this week in 1920 and was also the first Henderson County school to bus students. The school was, according to one description, “midway between the town of Spottsville and the Henderson Route railroad station on a high bluff overlooking the Green River. It sees and can be seen for miles around.” The description The Gleaner gave is as follows: “The school has a spacious basement, an assembly room capable of seating from 400 to 500 people” as well as classrooms and rooms for a library and teachers’ lounge. Initially, it handled only the grade school classes and the first two years of high school. In 1931 the school was expanded so it had nine classrooms, three halls, a music room and the principal’s office. But the school was destroyed by fire March 9, 1932, when sparks from a flue fell onto the roof. The school’s enrollment at that time was 298, of which 131 were attending high school. About 200 were in the school when the fire began just before 8 a.m. “Residents and students formed a bucket brigade, but their efforts were unavailing, and the building was reduced to a heap of ashes.” The separate gymnasium and the principal’s cottage were saved from the flames.

The new 1932 school cost $22,039. Beloved Henderson County Judge-Executive Sandy Watkins used to fondly call the “University of Spottsville.” The high school was used until mid-1981, when a newer school closer to downtown Henderson was completed. The building was sold and went through several owners before it was the victim of arson, according to The Gleaner of July 29, 1992. It was razed in mid-2003. (all information about the Spottsville High Schools is from The Gleaner).

The buildings in Spottsville just before the car bridge have held various businesses, including a restaurant and an auto mechanic.

Notable Residents

The closest thing Spottsville has to a celebrity being from there is Holloway Smith. He was the second African-American student-athlete admitted to Iowa State (Jack Trice was the first). Here's more about him, a biography I wrote from two resources and some federal documents, noted within the text:

Holloway Smith was born in Spottsville, Kentucky, on November 19, 1896, according to his World War I Draft Registration Card, which completed in Henderson. He was the son of James and Harriett Smith, according to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. He served in World War I and came to Ames, Iowa as a 29-year-old Army veteran. In the fall of 1926, Smith was one of 3,960 students who reported to campus for classes. During preseason practice, Smith received his first mention in the Iowa State Student newspaper:

Among the outstanding men who are seeking (a starting) assignment are Holloway Smith, the big colored boy...Smith is one of the first colored aspirants to the Iowa State team since the great Jack Trice, and he is showing up as varsity material. Smith is 6 feet 3 inches high and weighs about 219 pounds.

The Iowa State Cyclone says "At 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 219 pounds, Holloway was gargantuan among his teammates. Tackle to tackle, the Iowa State starters that fall weighed an average of 181 pounds. It should be noted that The Student's figures conflict with Iowa State game programs, which list Smith at 195. Even at 195, he would have been a monster on the State Field midway."

The Cyclone says Smith was voted third-team All-Missouri Valley Conference his senior year.

After graduation, Smith taught at the Marianna School in Arkansas, though in 1935, he had lived in Louisville, Kentucky, according to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. In 1936, African American newspapers proclaimed him the last Negro football player in the Big Six Conference, made up of Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Nebraska. But by then, he had moved on from his football playing days, though he did coach high school teams. He was in the Arkansas school system for several years, as teacher, then master teacher and finally as principal. He was also a state supervisor in Arkansas for the National Youth Association, a New Deal program that provided work, education and housing for youth from 16-24 during the Great Depression.

Smith left Arkansas in the 1940s. He served as a temporary member of the YMCA USO Club on 3rd Street in Pittsburg, California in 1945, according to the USO-Staff Conference minutes of June 11, 1945. In later life, Smith operated a restaurant, Ella's Southern Kitchen Restaurant, in Monterey, California, before moving to Reno, Nevada in the early 1960s. He died in Reno in 1970 at the age of 73. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Reno. In addition to the Cyclone, information in this biography comes from the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database.

My Memories of Spottsville

We moved to the city of Henderson just before I turned three-years-old. I have memories of our house in Spottsville from my time as a toddler, though they aren't super clear. Two are of my great-grandmother, Grandma, my Papaw's mother, who lived in Reed. In one, we are in the house in Spottsville, and I am trying to tell her something, but I have no idea how to say what it is I want to say, and all these years later, I don't remember what it was I was trying to tell her. But I remember the feeling of frustration and her offering me various things. "Do you want a diaper change? Are you hungry?" And the other is of her rocking me in a rocking chair, and I remember thinking, "This is really wonderful. I don't want to be anywhere else."

I fondly remember a diner in "downtown" Spottsville, right on US 60, that served the best hamburgers EVER. My paternal grandfather, my papaw, would take me and my brothers there sometimes and I thought it was the most delicious meal imaginable. I also cherish my memories at my grandparents little two-bedroom house, with a gas lamp out front. They had about three and a half acres of land, maybe more. My grandparents house and the one next door, which they also owned and which was the first house I lived in, were brought from the city of Henderson - my grandfather told me they were moved from the area that is now between Klutey Park Plaza Drive and US Highway 41, where the big grain elevators used to be. I think he said they had to be moved because those grain elevators were to be built, but I could be misremembering.

Almost half the entire property stayed empty, and it was a joy to sit on my Papaw's lap on his red tractor as he mowed. He once hooked up a trailer to the back of the tractor and took us kids around the land, and we thought it was the most fun thing EVER. We also had a pony for a while, Debby, in a corral. My grandparents, then just my grandmother, kept a garden behind her house. It was so big at first that Papaw tilled it with the tractor. One time, I remember one of my brothers driving the tractor, before he had a driver's license, with Papaw steering an old fashioned till behind it. It was so dangerous, so inappropriate - so country. My family regularly had fresh produce from that garden. The Spottsville garden started to shrink after Papaw died - Mamaw couldn't handle a big garden on her own anymore. Then my brother and his wife moved in next door, and my sister-in-law started helping with the garden, and it got quite big again.

About half of my grandparents land in Spottsville was empty. My grandfather had dreamed of all of his grandchildren having homes there someday. In the meantime, he rented part of the property to trailer owners. At one time, there were three trailers on the property, all well-kept. Papaw dug the septic tanks himself. But the trailers never lasted long, and the last renter abandoned their trailer altogether in the 1990s. The house next to my grandparents', where I had first lived as a baby, also fell into disrepair as my grandmother aged. She eventually sold the land to her great-nephew, who subdivided the land to sell part of it to, ugh, Dollar General Store.

The creek behind the house never flooded to any point that there was a danger to any of the homes, that I recall, and sometimes the creek dried up completely. I spent so much time playing at that creek, damning the water or pretending I was Robin Hood. I believe this is where my brother found a lot of the Indian arrowheads. Several yards to the East, on someone else's property, there was a wide space of the creek, which we called a pond, at the base of a hill - at the top of the hill was a house that had a full beauty shop in the basement. I remember that pond froze solid one year, and my brother and I, and a kid that lived next door, sledded down that hill over and over, skidding across that ice pond at the end. It was so much fun and probably dangerous. From what I can see on satellites, the pond has been either moved or a huge expanse has been built so that all the water stays there, and doesn't feed the creek anymore.

I stopped going to Spottsville after my grandmother moved to town in her 80s, and I have been through it only twice since she passed away, and both times closed my eyes when we got near her house, because I cannot stand seeing that ugly, parasitic Dollar General store there next to what used to be her house.