Bear Creek is a creek that is a tributary of the Red Bird River in Clay County, Kentucky.[1]
| Bear Creek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Highest headwater of the three forks |
| • coordinates | 37°09′05″N 83°41′14″W / 37.15141°N 83.68714°W |
| 2nd source | Confluence of the three forks |
| • coordinates | 37°10′39″N 83°39′52″W / 37.17750°N 83.66449°W |
| Mouth | Red Bird River[1] |
• location | 6.25 miles (10.06 km) upstream[1] |
• coordinates | 37°13′42″N 83°38′09″W / 37.22835°N 83.63583°W |
• elevation | 752 feet (229 m)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| post offices | |
Bear Creek received its name after a bear was shot there, according to local history.[2]
Tributaries and post offices
editThe mouth of Bear Creek is 6.25 miles (10.06 km) upstream on Red Bird River at an altitude of 752 feet (229 m) above sea level.[1]
- Its major tributaries are:
- a left branch 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream at altitude 765 feet (233 m)[3]
- a left branch 1.5 miles (2.4 km) upstream at altitude 780 feet (240 m)[3]
- a left branch 2.25 miles (3.62 km) upstream at altitude 825 feet (251 m)[3]
- a left branch 2.75 miles (4.43 km) upstream at altitude 860 feet (260 m)[4]
- a left branch 3 miles (4.8 km) upstream at altitude 875 feet (267 m)[4]
- Bowling Branch 3.75 miles (6.04 km) upstream at altitude 925 feet (282 m)[4]
- three forks 4.5 miles (7.2 km) upstream at (where 2 of the forks meet) altitude 950 feet (290 m)[5]
Barcreek post office
editBarcreek was established on 1900-03-07 by Elijah Herd, and remained in operation until March 1969.[6] It was half a mile upriver on Bear Creek from its confluence with the Red Bird River.[7] Its name was most likely a corruption of Bear Creek, but could also have been a reference to a large local sandbar.[6] Herd's first choice of his own name had been rejected by the USPS because it clashed with an already existing postoffice in Boyd County.[8]
Green L. Langdon moved it upriver in 1914, close to, or possibly at, the site of what was later to be Spurlock post office.[6] It was relocated back to Bear Creek in the 1920s, and was 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) up the creek when it closed in March 1969.[6]
Spurlock post office
editSpurlock post office was established on 1928-10-02, Silvania Herd's first choice of "Herd" similarly being rejected by the USPS because it then clashed with an already existing postoffice by that name in Jackson County.[9] Named after the Spurlock family, descendants of settler William Spurlock (1815–1855) from North Carolina who had arrived at Bear Creek in 1835, it lasted until July 1988.[9] It was located 1 mile upstream of the mouth of Banks Branch, a tributary of Red Bird River to the south of Bear Creek, to replace Barcreek post office after it moved back to Bear Creek.[9]
General
editAcross a ridge lies Laurel Creek.[1]
In 1918, Daniel Bowling had a mine 0.5 miles (0.80 km) upstream on Bowling Branch.[5]
See also
editCross-reference
edit- ^ a b c d e f Hodge 1918, p. 103.
- ^ Rennick 2013, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Hodge 1918, p. 104.
- ^ a b c Hodge 1918, p. 105.
- ^ a b Hodge 1918, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d Rennick 2000c, p. 29.
- ^ Rennick 2016b, BARCREEK.
- ^ Rennick 2000c, p. 43.
- ^ a b c Rennick 2000c, p. 32.
Sources
edit- Hodge, James Michael (1918). The coals of Goose Creek and its tributaries. Reports of the Kentucky Geological Survey 4th series 1912–1918. Vol. 4. Frankfort, Kentucky: The State Journal Company. (The coals of Goose Creek and its tributaries at the Internet Archive)
- Rennick, Robert M. (2000c). "Clay County — Post Offices". County Histories of Kentucky (176). Morehead State University.
- Rennick, Robert M. (2016b). "Place Names Beginning with the Letter B". Robert M. Rennick Manuscript Collection (17). Morehead State University.
- Rennick, Robert M. (28 August 2013). Kentucky Place Names. University Press of Kentucky. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-8131-4401-6.
 | This Clay County, Kentucky state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |