Kentucky is blessed with more miles of navigable rivers than any other state in the Union after Alaska. These rivers made it possible for early settlers to transports goods down the Ohio River and the Mississippi River to St. Louis and New Orleans. The trip was long and dangerous, with pirates and outlaws eager to separate ships from their cargo.

Once in New Orleans, the goods would be sold and the flatboat would be sold for its lumber. The tradesmen would then either catch ship in New Orleans and sale around Florida to an East Coast port and come back into…