Big Clifty, Kentucky
| Big Clifty, Kentucky | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place | |
 Big Clifty
Big Clifty
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| Coordinates: 37°32′44″N 86°9′13″W / 37.54556°N 86.15361°WCoordinates: 37°32′44″N 86°9′13″W / 37.54556°N 86.15361°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| County | Grayson |
| Elevation | 397 ft (121 m) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CST (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 42712 |
| FIPS code | 21-06508 |
| GNIS feature ID | 487153 |
Big Clifty is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grayson County, Kentucky, United States.
Clifty Creek crosses U.S. Highway 62 and the P & L railroad several miles to the southwest of Big Clifty. It is said that travelers named the town due to the limestone cliffs that arose on the sides of Clifty Creek. 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. In yesteryear nearby Clarkson was a tourist destination due to the numerous hotels near Grayson Springs, which were visited by guests who wished to experience the sulphur 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.
Big Clifty is also home to television and film actor Tim Skees.
The Skees family owned many of the towns businesses in the early 1900s, including the funeral home, railway shipping station and several mercantile stores.
Big Clifty is located in northeastern Grayson County along U.S. Route 62. It is 10 miles (16 km) north of Leitchfield, the county seat, and 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Elizabethtown. The Western Kentucky Parkway passes just southeast of Big Clifty, but the closest access points are at Clarkson, 5 miles (8 km) to the southwest, and near White Mills, 7 miles (11 km) to the northeast.
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