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The south fork originally ran through downtown, but was rerouted in the 1850s. The original route was turned into a sewer. In the 1920s, the stretch near
Germantown was placed into a concrete channel. The current channelized state of the creek bed and Louisville's continued problems with Combined
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As the forks wind through the area that has become
Louisville's East End, they have contributed to the geography that has shaped the area. The origin of the name "Beargrass" is not clear, though local stories abound and it was written as "Baregrass Creek" and "Bear Grass Creek" in early maps.
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is one of the largest in the county, draining over 60 square miles (160 km). It is fairly small, with an average discharge of 103 cubic feet per second at River Road in
Louisville.
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Lyndon Lore states, "The name
Beargrass was originally Bear Grasse, because the bears came to the creek for water and also for salt from the salt licks which were located near
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The
Beargrass Creek Alliance, a local volunteer watershed group of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance does outreach and projects to improve the quality of Beargrass Creek.
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The middle fork has two branches, called
Weicher Creek and the Sinking Fork. Weicher Creek flows from the Hurstborne Area, and the Sinking Fork has its headwaters near
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Sewer
Overflows (CSOs) often leads to poor water quality in the creek. Following heavy rain events one should avoid contact with the creek if at all possible.
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to malfunction and wash raw waste into the creek. Wartime rationing, feuding, and price disputes with
Louisville delayed correcting the problem until 1946.
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The earliest settlements by
Europeans in the area were built in the form of stations, or forts, along the banks of the creek. The three forks drain about
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Although used just for drainage and as a scenic feature by the 20th century, in pioneer days it was navigable and used for that purpose.
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The three main branches are the South, Middle and Muddy Forks. They separate just east of
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: BEARGRASS CREEK AT RIVER ROAD
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Special Report — "Beargrass Creek: Troubled streams of neglect, abuse"
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of land, and occasionally flood. Following the construction of the
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Middle fork of Beargrass Creek in Cherokee Park, near Big Rock
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Lyndon Lore, copyright June 8, 1972, Lyndon Homemaker's Club.
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in 1940, it was found that the area's limestone was causing
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of Louisville from 1780 shows the name as Baregrass Creek.
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is located) and eventually the Fern Creek neighborhood.
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206:is the name given to several forks of a creek in
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478:Watershed information for Jefferson County
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304:until it meets the South Fork near the
237:70 square miles (181 km)
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472:Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve
466:Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve
276:Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve
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308:. The Muddy Fork rises at a stone
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548:Landforms of Louisville, Kentucky
342:Geography of Louisville, Kentucky
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474:(Louisville Nature Center site)
443:Thomas, Samuel W., ed. (1971).
61:Location of the river mouth in
445:Views of Louisville since 1766
262:. The South Fork runs through
120: • coordinates
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543:Tributaries of the Ohio River
171:60 square miles (160 km)
88:Physical characteristics
408:". Accessed October 8, 2013.
282:is located along this fork.
159: • elevation
423:Kentucky Waterways Alliance
104: • location
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419:"Beargrass Creek Alliance"
337:List of rivers of Kentucky
266:and Germantown to west of
208:Jefferson County, Kentucky
189: • average
18:River in the United States
404:December 2, 2013, at the
397:City of Seneca Gardens. "
316:and runs parallel to the
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193:103 cubic feet per second
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163:412 ft (126 m)
142:38.266944°N 85.721389°W
399:Seneca Gardens History
210:. The Beargrass Creek
514:38.26840°N 85.72330°W
147:38.266944; -85.721389
491:Beargrass Creek org
113:Louisville, Kentucky
519:38.26840; -85.72330
510: /
449:The Courier-Journal
294:Anchorage, Kentucky
260:Downtown Louisville
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538:Rivers of Kentucky
306:Bourbon Stockyards
300:and flow through
280:Eleven Jones Cave
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428:February 2,
314:Windy Hills
310:springhouse
264:Butchertown
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532:Categories
505:85°43′24″W
502:38°16′06″N
348:References
318:Ohio River
268:Tyler Park
223:Salt River
168:Basin size
133:85°43′17″W
130:38°16′01″N
109:Ohio River
241:U.S. Army
228:However,
212:watershed
180:Discharge
402:Archived
331:See also
243:base at
230:this map
73:Location
63:Kentucky
78:Country
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94:Mouth
430:2016
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251:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
