Suffolk, originally called “Bluff,” was established here by Logan County Court in 1803 at a site chosen for the recognized importance of the Green River to the future development of the valley and the state of Kentucky. The court appointed Reuben Browning, Hezekiah Hargrave, Jacob Haws, Andrew Lovelace, and William Forsythe as trustees. When Butler County was formed in 1810, Suffolk was its only town. Thomas Riddick laid out 104 half-acre lots for the town plat from his father Jason’s Revolutionary War land grant. Although Suffolk failed, it became the predecessor of Rochester, founded in 1839 as an important shipping point on the Green River.