I have decided to return to blogging. This blog series is called the Highlighted Community where I will pick a town that I have either visited or am thinking about visiting and discuss it. Each highlighted community post will describe the community using the Five Themes of Geography and they are location, place, human/environment interaction, movement, and regions and talk about my experiences with the location.
Today we have the small town of Leavenworth, Indiana in the very underrated region of Southern Indiana.

Location:
Leavenworth, Indiana is located in the Jennings Township of Crawford County Indiana. For those who are not familiar with townships, they are pretty much another subdivision of a county and in the case of Indiana, they will elect a township trustee who will take care of all of the administrative duties of that township. Crawford County has nine different townships. The city of Leavenworth is located along the Ohio River. Leavenworth’s coordinates are 38.1998° N, 86.3441° W according to Google. Leavenworth is served by Indiana State Route 62 (a major west-east state highway along Southern Indiana and is close to Interstate 64). Leavenworth’s location in the Ohio River Valley gives it a Humid Subtropical Climate with hot summers and variable winters that can sometimes be cold and snowy and sometimes mild with little snow, which is the standard for Southern Indiana and adjacent parts of Southern Illinois and Kentucky.

History, Movement, Human-Environment Interaction, and Region:

The story about the Leavenworth and South-Central Indiana begins about 330 million years in what geologists call the Lower Carboniferous (or Mississippian Period for US geologists). Back then the area was a shallow, clear, and tropical sea very similar to the Bahamas or Maldives. This allowed for marine-life at that time to flourish and their calcium shells formed thick beds of limestone we say today across the area. Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere and the soil reacts with the limestone over time which produces cavities (sinkholes) in the limestone and in some cases caves. One such cave is Wyandotte Cave just east of Leavenworth. I will discuss much more about karst and caves in future posts. This is one major factor that contributes to the hilly and rugged landscape that one finds in this area in Indiana as the more resistant rocks (many are capped by sandstone) forms the ridges. The other factor is the Ohio River and its tributaries. The water for these rivers carves out scenic river valleys that contribute to its scenery by way of erosion.

This is what South-Central Indiana may of looked like about 330 millions years ago.  This is from Pixabay

Leavenworth, Indiana like any river town was a port and possibly a stop for anyone traveling between Evansville and Louisville. As mentioned by its historical marker and by the Indiana Government website the town was a port for spirits, pork, produce, corn, lumber, flatboats, etc. Leavenworth was at one time the county seat of Crawford County but it in 1937 it suffered a major setback, the Ohio River Flood. The Ohio River devastated the entire town in 1937 and due to that flood and its overall high flood risk, the town decided to relocate itself on a higher river bluff. Today the town is located along Indiana 62 (The Ohio River Scenic Byway) and Old Leavenworth which is largely abandoned still exists on the floodplain. This can be seen from my picture taken from the Overlook Restaurant.

The circled area is where Old Leavenworth is located at.  This area was flooded as recently as this past February when the Ohio River flooded due to heavy rain in the Ohio valley area over several days.  Across the river is Meade County Kentucky.

Characteristics (Place) and My Experience:

Leavenworth, Indiana is best known for its Overlook Restaurant which is located on a bluff that overlooks the Ohio River. When I went there this past April there were people from as far away as California who stopped to have dinner at the Overlook. The way the building is built it gives the appearance that one is having lunch or dinner while you are floating on the Ohio River. The food was good and the staff friendly as well which is a plus. Leavenworth is also known as being located near Wyandotte Cave which is just east of Leavenworth near the Blue River and is open to the public during the summers. While one will not find big city amenities here in Leavenworth or Crawford County but there are chances to learn about the history of the Ohio River Valley, explore the very scenic O’Bannon Woods and Harrison Crawford State Forest, take a tour in Wyandotte Cave (during summer weekends) and learn about life in rural river towns.
Overall I think the general region of Southern Indiana is very scenic. I was surprised to see how rugged the area was with some the hills soaring up to 900 feet in elevation. Those hills, great views of Ohio and other rivers, and plentiful forests make this a nice area to hike and camp. The rural nature of this area along with its lack of attention compared to similar areas makes for less crowded conditions and more ideal man and nature bonding. I did not get to explore the forests or Wyandotte Cave because of time and because the cave was not open at that time, but I will say that scenery-wise it is a very underrated area. Those that think that Indiana is just one big cornfield will be pleasantly surprised if they visit this area.

Other Links and Pictures:

http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/wpa/leavenworth.html

https://www.in.gov/history/markers/65.htm

The first image is from Wyandotte Cave courtesy of this website. https://www.thisisindiana.org/directory/wyandotte-cave/   The second image is one I captured in front of the Overlook Restaurant.

 

I will try and post at least one town per week.  These first three posts on my Highlighted Community series will retrace my steps from my weekend Ohio River weekend trip back in April (Leavenworth, IN Corydon, IN and Louisville, KY) and then I will do one on my hometown Hopkinsville, KY.