Big Clifty is a small unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Grayson County

Grayson County, Kentucky

Grayson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1810. As of 2000, the population was 24,053. Its county seat is Leitchfield. The county is named for William Grayson , a Revolutionary War colonel and a prominent Virginia political figure...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Located near the Hardin County

Hardin County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 94,174 people, 34,497 households, and 25,355 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 37,673 housing units at an average density of...

 line, the community lies primarily along U.S. Route 62

U.S. Route 62

U.S. Route 62 runs from the US-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas to Niagara Falls, New York, near the United States-Canada border. It is the only east-west US Route that connects Mexico and Canada.Parts of U.S...

. Children from the Big Clifty area attend Clarkson Elementary.

History of Big Clifty

Big Clifty grew up around the P & L (Paducah and Louisville) railroad. Clifty Creek crosses HWY 62 and the P & L railroad several miles to the southwest of Big Clifty. Its said that travelers named the town due to the limestone cliffs that arose on the sides of Clifty Creek. Vocal accounts of residents from the past report that Big Clifty was a "boom town" that at one time had a post office, bank, feed mill, several dry goods stores and restaurants. The Ben Goodman school was the local "country school" and the town had numerous Churches. One resident recounted a story of the circus coming to town on the train. One of the circus performers had a trained bear which climbed the posts outside the barber's office. In yesteryear nearby Clarkson, KY was a tourist destination due to the numerous hotels near Grayson Springs, KY which were visited so hotel guests could experience the sulpher water's curative properties. Big Clifty benefited from the traffic going to Clarkson. Spurrier Mill was a grist mill on the Nolin River several miles from Big Clifty which was a benefit to the economy. Like many rural Kentucky communities, as passenger rail-use decreased and transportation and commercial shipping routes changed, Big Clifty's boom town status disappeared.

Geography of Big Clifty

The town itself is on flat land. The surrounding terrain is flat to rolling with 20 to 40 foot cliffs surrounding Petty Branch of Meeting Creek and Meeting Creek in the Northeast. Clifty Creek runs to the west of Big Clifty with high ridges and cliffs surrounding it. The small Catholic community of St. Paul is nearby Big Clifty and Rough River runs west of it. The geography around Rough River is rugged with very high ridges and sheer 40-60 foot cliffs bordering the river in many areas.