Pictured above is the old Illinois Central Railroad Bridge at Rockport, Kentucky.
Picture was taken from a boat that was positioned where the Danks' Slough drains
into the river. View is upriver and looking tranquil enough to be in a Norman Rockwell
Painting. The bridge is getting old and beginning to show its' age. It certainly is
in need of some tender loving care and especially being painted.
Rockport, Kentucky-A peaceful, small town community on the banks of the Green River. It sure does look peaceful in this view and for most of the last hundred or so years, it has been peaceful. There were times though, when this area of the river was not peaceful. In the later years of the nineteenth century, River Excursion Boats or Steamboats tied up at Rockport just above the pier. They were party boats and they came to party. A night on the town at Rockport and they loaded up the next day and went back downriver. Below the pier was a swimming hole in the mid period of the twentieth Century and it stayed busy. People were baptized in this area and swimming and diving was done on both sides of the pier. At one time, a "Swinging Bridge" rested on this Rockport Bank Pier and the bridge section was swung around to make contact with the railroad on the middle pier as well as the rails on the upper bank pier. In the World War I era, an encampment of soldiers, were positioned and ready to protect this vital bridge. A ferry, just above the railroad bridge, was operational for years. The river froze over and the river flooded. For more about this railroad and a few stories, please see the Web Page section on "Railroads". Just click on the URL below to visit the railroad section.
Click here to visit the "Railroad" Web Pages.
See you.......
jrd
Rockport, Kentucky-A peaceful, small town community on the banks of the Green River. It sure does look peaceful in this view and for most of the last hundred or so years, it has been peaceful. There were times though, when this area of the river was not peaceful. In the later years of the nineteenth century, River Excursion Boats or Steamboats tied up at Rockport just above the pier. They were party boats and they came to party. A night on the town at Rockport and they loaded up the next day and went back downriver. Below the pier was a swimming hole in the mid period of the twentieth Century and it stayed busy. People were baptized in this area and swimming and diving was done on both sides of the pier. At one time, a "Swinging Bridge" rested on this Rockport Bank Pier and the bridge section was swung around to make contact with the railroad on the middle pier as well as the rails on the upper bank pier. In the World War I era, an encampment of soldiers, were positioned and ready to protect this vital bridge. A ferry, just above the railroad bridge, was operational for years. The river froze over and the river flooded. For more about this railroad and a few stories, please see the Web Page section on "Railroads". Just click on the URL below to visit the railroad section.
See you.......
jrd
