News from June 1, 2006 issue



Dam 50 development moving ahead
Development of the old Kentucky Lock and Dam 50 site on the Ohio River in northern Crittenden County is gaining steam this summer.

Once a small community inhabited by workers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who maintained and operated the lock and dam, the area has been used as a primitive campground and boat launching facility in recent years.

Within the past year, however, new development has begun, but there is still much to do, according to Tommy Hughes, chairman of the Dam 50 Improvement Committee.
The county has been approved for grants totaling more than $100,000 to improve the site.

"It's really a scenic place," says Hughes, bragging that its isolation makes it attractive.
The land is fairly secluded along the Ohio River, located at the end of Ky. 387. The county hopes to develop it further for recreational use.

Development has been moving rather slowly, but progress is being made, said Dan Wood, a committee member and county magistrate.

Trees have been trimmed and the parking areas repaired, according Judge-Executive Fred Brown.

Walking trails, including a handicap path around the parking lot, have been created, Hughes explained.

Trash and debris that had littered the area has already been cleaned up and moved away, Brown added.

There is however, still some trash at the shoreline that will need to be removed. There has been some minor graffiti and vandalism as well. Plans are to complete cleanup first, then move toward more aggressive development.

"They cleaned it up really nice," says Vestal Murray, a long time resident living near the project.

Murray remembers when the area was a thriving community with houses lining property overlooking the river.

Dam 50 was built and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers beginning in the mid 1920s, according to local historian Brenda Underdown.

A small community popped up next to the dam as a place for the dam operators and their families to live. The company town thrived until 1980 when the dam was shut down, removed, and replaced by Smithland Dam farther down river. Two other dams were also removed from the Lower Ohio River as a part of the project, says Underdown.

Within a couple years of Dam 50's closure, the houses were torn down and some moved to nearby farms. There are few remnants of the old community, said Underdown, who notes that it was sad to see the area go from a thriving community to a place of disrepair over the past two decades.

In an effort to revitalize the area the county applied for and was award two grants by the state. The first grant will pay for the construction of walking trials and the second will pay for all other first phase construction.

Improvements will include a picnic pavilion, hiking trials, recreational vehicle (RV) sites, restrooms, electricity as well as continued improvement on the walking trials, says Hughes.

The estimated cost of the renovation will be over $215,000. According to grant agreements, the state government will reimburse up to half, around $107,000, of the entire project. The grants are match-based, so the county must put up the initial money or in-kind resources in order to complete the project.

In effort to save money, individuals and companies have donated time, manpower and resources. Those donations will be given a dollar value and applied to the local matching amount, Hughes said.

The next major focus for the committee is getting a pavilion built, says Hughes.
The pavilion, a 20x40 steel structure with tables, seats and multiple cooking grills, should be completed within the next two months, said Hughes.

Hughes says things must be taken one step at a time and right now the committee is concentrating on the pavilion.

"This is not something you can do overnight," says Hughes.

The area has been the focus of several attempts at development over the past few years, but resources were unavailable. Now, with the two grants awarded by the state, the project is moving closer toward reality, organizers say.

Mineral museum hosts show and dig
The Clement Mineral Museum is hosting its first mineral and gem show Friday and Saturday. The event will also include several off-campus sites for hands-on digging for rocks and minerals.

Show sponsors hope to raise money for the struggling museum.
A sizeable crowd is expected, says Bill Frazer, a Clement Mineral Museum Board of Directors member.

Smaller communities have hosted similar shows and had as many as 10,000 people in attendance, said Frazer. He doesn't expect that many here this weekend, but thinks the event will attract a good sized crowd.

The event includes silent auctions, several mineral collections, speakers and tours. The featured attraction will be five excavation digs, said Frazer.

"The digs give everyone the rare opportunity to collect minerals from one of the most famous mining districts in the U.S.," according to the museum's marketing and promotional material.

There will be five digs, including a night dig in which collectors will use ultraviolet light to locate fluorescent minerals. The charge is $15 per day to participate in the four daytime digs. The one night fluorescent dig will require an additional $15. Everyone will be required to sign a release before digging at any of the sites.

"Whatever you find, you keep," said Frazer.

A dozen outside venders will bring their collections of rocks, jewelry, minerals and old mining equipment.

Tourists and town folk will also have the opportunity to view Marion's own acclaimed mineral collection, which the Friends of the Mineralogy call an "irreplaceable record of the fluorite mining industry."

John Sampson White, formerly of the Smithsonian Institute, called the collection "an important piece of natural history."

Sandra Hawthorne, a local business owner, says the museum could be the city's largest tourist draw and bring in more outsiders than any other attraction.

"I've seen geologists and students who know geology stand in awe over it," says Hawthorne about the museum's rare collection.

She believes the community doesn't fully value the collection.

"It's the biggest thing we have and it's being ignored," said Hawthorne.

The collection of minerals, photographs and old mining equipment was compiled and owned by Ben E. Clement until his death in 1980.

It was virtually untouched until 1992 when the county formed the Mineral Museum Board of Directors and the Clement family agreed to loan the collection to the county.
Since then, the board has worked to honor the memory of Clement by allowing his collection to be viewed by everyone.

Frazer encourages everyone to come out Friday and Saturday.

The show starts at 10 a.m. Exhibitions will be at the middle and high school, as well as tours at the Clement Mineral Museum next to Fohs Hall. Daily admission is $1 for the show and $3 for the museum.

For information go to www.ClementMineralMuseum.org.