Calhoun

History

Present-day Calhoun was first known as "Rhoadsville" after the German-born Pennsylvanian Captain Henry Rhoads (1739–1809), who laid out the town from 1784 to 1785 near the Long Falls of the Green River. His brother Solomon then erected a fort to protect the settlers and the transit around the falls. Around the time John Hanley acquired Rhoads' lands in a 1787 lawsuit, the site was renamed and was alternately known as "Fort Vienna" and "Vienna Station". The post office established in 1849, however, was called "Calhoon" after Rep. John Calhoon of Kentucky, and the town was chartered by the state assembly in 1852 under this new name. At some later point, presumably out of confusion with the more famous Senator and Vice President John Calhoun of South Carolina, the spelling of the town was changed. In 1854, it beat out the settlement of Rumsey on the other side of the river to become the seat of the newly formed McLean County.

Geography

Calhoun is located in central McLean County at (37.538633, -87.259414), on the north bank of the Green River, the longest river entirely in the state. The Army Corps of Engineers' Lock and Dam #2 on the river is at Calhoun. Calhoun is bordered to the south, across the river, by the community of Rumsey. Kentucky Route 81 passes through Calhoun as its Main Street, leading north to Owensboro and south to Central City. Kentucky Route 256 leaves the center of Calhoun as 1st Street and leads northwest to Beech Grove. Kentucky Route 136 crosses the northern end of Calhoun, leading northwest to Beech Grove as well and southeast to Livermore. According to the United States Census Bureau, Calhoun has a total area of , of which , or 2.39%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• McLean County High School
  High · Calhoun · 413 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• McLean County Middle School
  Middle · Calhoun · 319 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Calhoun Elementary School
  Elementary · Calhoun · 310 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Livermore Elementary School
  Elementary · Livermore · 227 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Marie Gatton Phillips Elementary
  Elementary · Sacramento · 121 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• McLean County Alternative Center
  High · Calhoun · 15 students