Locust Grove

Text

Historical Marker #2086 in Jefferson County commemorates the Locust Grove estate.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, Locust Grove was the home of William Croghan and his wife, Lucy Clark Croghan. Lucy was the sister of the Revolutionary War hero, George Rogers Clark, and the famed explorer, William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Croghan was an Irish immigrant who briefly served with the British Army in the American Revolution before joining the Eighth Virginia Regiment. Croghan traveled to Kentucky in 1784 with a commission to survey military lands. He married Lucy Clark in 1789. Construction on Locust Grove began the next year.

Locust Grove served as social hub during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Visitors to the home included Vice President Aaron Burr, President James Monroe, and President Andrew Jackson. Kentucky artist John James Audubon was a family friend, and he completed some of his Louisville work at Locust Grove. While returning from their famed western expedition in 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark stopped to visit with Clark’s sister and brother-in-law.

Locust Grove gained another resident in 1809, when George Rogers Clark moved into the home. Clark is known as one of the founding fathers of Kentucky and as a successful military man, reaching the rank of brigadier general during the Revolutionary War. In 1809, Clark suffered a debilitating stroke in front of his fireplace, which resulted in such bad burns to his leg that it required amputation. Clark suffered another stroke in 1813, and a third one took his life in 1818.