Participation Type
Film
Presentation #1 Title
Between The Rock and the Commonwealth
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Between The Rock and the Commonwealth is a documentary film that examines the tale of Indian Head Rock, a 6-ton boulder that resided in the Ohio River near South Shore Kentucky, hidden 16 feet below the waters surface for 87 years. The rock earned its name from the crude carving of a face on its surface, and from some of the earliest media documentation the rock drew travelers from far and wide to see the local legend. The creation of the lock and dam system on the Ohio River in the 20th century caused the water levels to rise and the rock to disappear. In 2007 a team of Portsmouth Ohio historians located the rock and removed it from the river with hopes that its rediscovery would celebrate the history of the region. To their surprise many Kentuckians felt as though the rock belonged to them, thus beginning a battle between two states, which captivated the nation, over the ownership of Indian Head Rock.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Steven Middleton, is a documentarian that documents social, imaginative, ethnographic, and eccentric stories about Appalachia and the American South. When filming, he becomes highly involved with the subjects — sleeping, ingesting, and breathing with those he is focusing on, exceeding the divide between observer and subject. His films have been featured in film festivals internationally, and broadcast on Kentucky PBS affiliate Kentucky Educational Television (KET) WOSU Ohio’s PBS affiliate, and Ozark Mountain Television.
Conference Subthemes
Education, Environmental Sustainability
Between The Rock and the Commonwealth
Between The Rock and the Commonwealth is a documentary film that examines the tale of Indian Head Rock, a 6-ton boulder that resided in the Ohio River near South Shore Kentucky, hidden 16 feet below the waters surface for 87 years. The rock earned its name from the crude carving of a face on its surface, and from some of the earliest media documentation the rock drew travelers from far and wide to see the local legend. The creation of the lock and dam system on the Ohio River in the 20th century caused the water levels to rise and the rock to disappear. In 2007 a team of Portsmouth Ohio historians located the rock and removed it from the river with hopes that its rediscovery would celebrate the history of the region. To their surprise many Kentuckians felt as though the rock belonged to them, thus beginning a battle between two states, which captivated the nation, over the ownership of Indian Head Rock.
