Green Castle, Kentucky

Green Castle was a Warren county town on the Barren River at the mouth of Swan Creek (now known as Taylor Branch) about six miles north of Bowling Green. Green Castle was a river port and included mills and other industry in the nineteenth century. It was also known as Browns Lock, named for William Brown who owned a mill. It was mostly abandoned by 1925 and there is little left of the town.

The town was incorporated as Greencastle in 1869, but was later dissolved.

The Swan Creek post office opened in 1850, was renamed Green Castle in 1856, and closed circa 1895.

Barren River Lock and Dam 1, the only lock and dam on the river, were completed by the state river authority in 1841. They were acquired by the federal government in 1886 and a second lock chamber was completed in 1934. After Green River Lock and Dam 4 failed in 1965 the Barren River locks were closed. After years of deterioration the lock and dam were demolished in 2022.

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© 2024 David C. Elbon