Throwback Thursday: Alligators in Barren River

Today on Throwback Thursday, we will try to answer the age old question, exactly how many alligators are there in Barren River? Gators generally inhabit the coastal states of the American southeast. American alligators can grow fifteen feet, have eighty teeth, and their bites measure among the strongest.

Now imagine seeing one where you least expect it, while fishing on Barren River. That’s exactly what happened to Lowell Davis in 1956. Davis saw a six-foot gator slide from the bank into the water. In his motorboat, he chased the reptile, with the animal occasionally turning to pursue him. Finally, Davis managed to drive the gator up onto land where he used a rope to lasso it, tying it to a tree.

Once the Daily News published this, everyone saw alligators, all up and down the river, sometimes four at a time, from Beech Bend eighteen miles down to Greencastle, including one reportedly eight feet long. We could chalk this up to hysteria, except for what happened a week later.

Dick Dooley, owner of Kentucky Reptile Garden, organized multiple searches. Using the animal’s mating call, Dooley got an answer. When the three-foot gator swam past his boat, another hunter jumped in and grabbed the creature by the neck and tail. The Reptile Garden provided a new home for both these alligators.

In 1960 Charles Scott fished near Boatlanding when he saw a three foot alligator crawling up the bank. He grabbed it by the back of the neck and took it home. A man living on the river told Scott he had seen an even larger one earlier that year.

In 1971, Oneal Ragland saw a five foot gator on the Barren. Getting a shotgun from home, he returned and spotted the creature swimming. He fired at him, but it submerged. Later, he found the beast sunning itself on the bank. His next shot killed it.

All the articles agree, alligators didn’t swim here from the deep south. More likely they escaped from a park or a traveling carnival. WKU professors assured everyone that gators can’t procreate this far north. Beech Bend did have an alligator exhibit, and the Daily News reported varying responses from them, from holes in their fence to one sick gator being released on purpose. This led to the rumor, recounted in Robert Dickey’s book Dynasty of Dimes, that Beech Bend owner Charles Garvin released the reptiles to encourage patrons to pay to swim in his pool rather than in the river for free. Others refuted this, citing the animals’ value. Afterall, when the park closed for winters, Garvin did let the smaller gators hibernate in his own basement.