Woodford Landing is, or more accurately, was, on the Kentucky River, between Blackburn Bridge and Lovers’ Leap, just south of Germany Bend. The river is still there, of course, but Woodford Landing, as a place that needed a name, exists mostly in memory. When rivers were still the major conduits for passengers, livestock, crops, and goods in this part of the country, the Landing was a busy lay-by for paddlewheel steamboats and other river traffic between the Central Kentucky Bluegrass region and the Deep South. Leisured travelers would come to the Landing to board cruise boats bound for Louisville, a seventeen-hour journey by water in those days, and a mobile party the whole time. The calliopes of passing showboats were once loud enough to be heard seven miles away, and to nearly deafen the excited children who gathered on the riverbank to watch them pass. That era flowed by. The Landing grew quieter. Until 1942, a small ferry, pulled on a rope by hand, still shuttled the river at Woodford Landing, but bridges upriver eventually replaced the ferry.
Now the landing is a steep, grassy embankment opposite my husband’s old bachelor house. Its main visitors are deer, raccoons, and foxes. Most nights, only the moon’s reflection slides by in the deep current. Except for the occasional spring flood, it’s a peaceful place.
I hope you’ll enjoy your time here. Thanks for stopping by.
All original text and images on this site © 2011 by foxlily. All rights reserved.
