Paducah's River Industry
Paducah's River Industry was the city's lifeblood. Steamboats and tobacco were critical to the area's economy in the late 1880's. Mule-drawn transfer wagons moved hogshead barrels of tobacco that weighed around 1,600 pounds each. Nearly 20,000 barrels were stored annually in the area for two to three years. Steamboats carried mixed cargo and passengers. Paducah was a major port and distribution center because of its strategic location at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers and close proximity to the Mississippi and Cumberland Rivers. (From and 1890's Photograph)
Marker is on North Water Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
