Cloverport, Kentucky
city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States
Cloverport is a home rule-class city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States, on the banks of the Ohio River. As of the 2020 census, Cloverport had a population of 1,119.
History
The town was once known as Joesville after its founder, Joe Huston. Established around 1798 (or possibly 1808) on the east side of where Clover Creek meets the Ohio River. The town was the site of the ferry where, in 1816, Jacob Weatherholt piloted the family of Abraham Lincoln, then seven, across the Ohio River on its way to a newly acquired farm in Spencer County, Indiana.
Around 1820 a building was constructed that became the town's first school and was shared by the Baptist and Methodist congregations as a church on Sundays. The town's first graveyard, known as the Scott Cemetery, was beside this building which was located south of present Murray Avenue and east of Cherry Street.
The town was renamed Cloverport in 1828 after nearby Clover Creek. Seven years before, in 1821, the Kentucky Legislature had built a toll road between the town and Bowling Green. 1828 also saw the town open a post office with George LaHeist as post master.
The public source identifies “Cloverport, Kentucky” as city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cloverport, Kentucky and city.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Cloverport, Kentucky”, the useful work is to connect “city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2391171. VIAF identifies the subject as 136150353. The Library of Congress control number is n88155508. Authority coordinates are 37.834, -86.632. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1798, 1808 and 1816.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cloverport, Kentucky”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cloverport, Kentucky primary sources, Cloverport, Kentucky archive and Cloverport research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cloverport, Kentucky”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cloverport, Kentucky” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.