Martins Creek (Kentucky)

Martins Creek
Martin Creek
Physical characteristics
SourceMartin Creek headwaters
 • coordinates37°03′36″N 83°37′33″W / 37.06007°N 83.62592°W / 37.06007; -83.62592 (Martin Creek headwaters)
MouthGoose Creek
 • coordinates
37°04′33″N 83°41′13″W / 37.07574°N 83.68696°W / 37.07574; -83.68696 (mouth of Martins Creek)
 • elevation
830 feet (250 m)[1]

Martins Creek (a.k.a. Martin Creek) is creek that is a tributary of Goose Creek in Clay County, Kentucky that used to have a Martins Creek post office.[2][1] It is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long and named for early settler Salathiel Martin.[2]

Tributaries and post offices[edit]

The Creek is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) from Manchester at altitude 830 feet (250 m) above sea level.[1]

  • Its major tributaries are:
    • Moses Branch 1.75 miles (2.82 km) upstream at an altitude of 905 feet (276 m)[1]

Martin Creek post office[edit]

Its eponymous postoffice was established on July 10, 1876, by postmasters Marshall Corum and George D. Mahan, and closed on September 20, 1878.[2] It was located just downstream on Goose Creek from the mouth of Martins.[2]

Wages post office[edit]

The Wages postoffice was established on February 6, 1884, by William Wages, and closed in November 1885.[2] It was located 3 miles (4.8 km) upstream along the creek from its mouth. His first choice of name had actually been Martins Creek.[2]

In 1918, Silas Wages had a mine 0.25 miles (0.40 km) upstream on Moses Branch.[1]

Plank post office[edit]

The Plank postoffice was established on December 7, 1906, by postmaster George W. Walker, and closed in September 1992.[3] It was located 2 miles (3.2 km) upstream along the creek from its mouth.[3] It served several lumber mills and the store of J. B. Walker, and local oral history is that its name was taken from a plank of wood propped against the wall of one of the aforementioned mills, a lumbermill practice that was used to boast that it had sawn the longest plank in the area.[3]

General[edit]

J. B. Walker's mine was 0.5 miles (0.80 km) upstream on Moses Branch, and his house was 2 miles (3.2 km) upstream on Martin Creek itself.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Hodge 1918, p. 61.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rennick 2000c, p. 25.
  3. ^ a b c Rennick 2000c, pp. 25–26.
  4. ^ Hodge 1918, p. 62.

Sources[edit]

  • Hodge, James Michael (1918). The coals of Goose Creek and its tributaries. Reports of the Kentucky Geological Survey 4th series 1912–1918. Vol. 4. Frankfort, Kentucky: The State Journal Company. (The coals of Goose Creek and its tributaries at the Internet Archive)
  • Rennick, Robert M. (2000c). "Clay County — Post Offices". County Histories of Kentucky (176). Morehead State University.

Further reading[edit]

  • Rennick, Robert M.; United States Geological Survey (January 1954). "Ogle Quadrangle (1954)". Robert M. Rennick Topographical Map Collection (560). Morehead State University.