Recently, WJRS News reported Russell County Judge-Executive Randy Marcum was in discussions with the Goff family (the owners of the Rockhouse property in Creelsboro) about a potential lease for the property.
After some questions arose, WJRS News spoke with a representative of the Goff family.
Diana Goff, the daughter of Thomas Goff, who purchased the Rockhouse property, released the following statement to WJRS News about the property and the interest in leasing it to the county.
We are grateful to our parents and grandparents for their dedicated work in preserving the Rockhouse Arch. We are not a wealthy family. My parents and grandparents left Rockhouse bottom in the 1920s for Detroit to work in the automobile industry. We are a blue collar working Christian family. Our family heart strings held tight to Rockhouse bottom and the Rockhouse Arch. My father Tom returned temporarily in the middle 1900s and purchased over 100 acres of land on the Cumberland River which included the Rockhouse Arch. We believe the interior of the Arch to be a sacred and holy place, a chapel. A place easy to be close to nature and God. We welcome all to come free of charge and be in its presence.
Now after 80 years have passed, we find the Rockhouse Arch has more needs than the resources available.
My family‘s guiding principle when deciding matters relating to the Rockhouse is, do what is best for the long-term preservation of the Rockhouse. Our family is sad and stressed that we now have to go through the process of selecting someone else to take care of the Rockhouse in the future. That process required the family to choose from available options the one which best meets that guiding principle.
In order to have local input into that decision making process, we invited a group of ten Kentucky citizens to join us as an advisory group. Most of the group are citizens of Russell County. The group’s purpose is to provide the family with counsel, suggestions, opinions, and recommendations until such time as we have finalized an agreement.. They have been extremely helpful to us. We keep their names confidential. In the end if they desire to be known, we will be happy to introduce you to them at that time.
The options available for consideration were a lucrative offer to purchase all the property (this came from a property developer in Tennessee), an offer from a successful business man who lives locally, and an offer from Russell County to lease the Rockhouse property only. After much discussion we all agreed the Russell County lease option was the best option for the Rockhouse. Further it meets all of the family’s wishes. That the Rockhouse Arch remains in the family‘s name and the Rockhouse remains open and free to all who come.
The question that remains with the Goff family is whether or not the good citizens of Russell County are willing to accept the responsibility as the caretakers of the Rockhouse and are willing to put forth the resources to the extent that it honors the Arch’s status as a National Natural Landmark. The Arch is one of only six National Natural Landmarks found within the borders of the Kentucky Commonwealth.
We want to thank Judge Randy Marcum for his invitation to discuss the future of the Rockhouse. We have been impressed by the preservation work he has done and is doing throughout Russell County. We had one meeting with him last year. A lot of progress was made in that meeting. We built a foundation on which the parties can work to reach a final agreement. There are several issues to consider. Accessibility is a real problem. Graffiti painted on the chapel walls is vandalism. It must be stopped. Jim Creek which runs through the Arch to the river is quickly washing the river rock out of the Arch’s floor. The floods before the dam replaced the stone and kept the floor level with the parking area.We need to know the long term effects this may have on the Arch’s structure.
We know it will take time, patience, and continued communication to work out the issues and reach a final agreement. The final step will be the decision of the Russell County Fiscal Court.
We ask for your prayers for the family, the Rockhouse, and Russell County.
Diana Goff
Below is an informational video from KET about the history of the Rockhouse, featuring Diana Goff.
