Historical Marker # 1935 in Lewisport (Hancock County) commemorates the December 1864 capture of a Union mail packet steamboat at this Ohio River town by Confederate guerrillas. A sharp rise in pro-Confederate guerrilla activity in Kentucky…

Historical Marker #944 in Bardstown (Nelson County) commemorates steamboat innovator John Fitch, whose pioneering work helped set the stage for a transportation revolution. Fitch was born on January 21, 1743, in Windsor, Connecticut. He first…

Historical Marker #1264 in McLean County notes the namesake of the town of Rumsey. Kentucky claims strong ties to the steamboat. Early innovator John Fitch lived his last years in Bardstown, and Fulton and Livingston counties were named for…

Historical Marker #925 in Monterey notes that town's association with steamboat travel and trade on the Kentucky River. Monterey, in Owen County, was originally named Williamsburg after a local pioneer settler. In 1847, the town changed its…

Historical Marker #801 in Smithland commemorates the namesake of Livingston County, Robert R. Livingston. Robert Livingston was born in New York City in 1746. He was educated at King's College and studied law soon thereafter. Livingston…

Historical Marker #1805 in Beattyville (Lee County) notes the location where the Kentucky River begins. Two branches, the North Fork and Middle Fork, join together east of Beattyville. They then form a confluence with the South Fork at the town,…

Historical Marker #1065 in Paducah—where the Tennessee River flows into the Ohio River—commemorates the importance of the waterfront to this river city. River towns often materialize near natural geographical distinctions. For example, cities…

Historical Marker #720 in Gallatin County notes the tragic steamboat collision between the "America" and the "United States" on the Ohio River in 1868. The disaster, which occurred near Warsaw, Kentucky, resulted in a significant…

Historical Marker #1778 in Louisville remembers the final resting place of pioneering female steamboat captain Mary Millicent Miller, who received her license as a captain in 1884. The nineteenth century world of steamboating was often a rough…

Historical Marker #1169 in Fulton explains that the county and town were both named for Robert Fulton, an early steamboat innovator. Fulton County's location on the Mississippi River in the southwest corner of Kentucky fits well with its…

Historical Marker #2265 in Owen County notes the historical significance of steamboat captain Samuel Sanders, who plied the waters of the Kentucky River for many years. Today, it is difficult to believe that steamboats once appeared in great…

Historical Marker #1756 in Hawesville (Hancock County) cites the birthplace of noted steamboat captain and builder John W. Cannon. Cannon captained steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers during much of the nineteenth century and became…