Prowling Around Paducah

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Hi Blog!

After touring the National Quilt Museum (see prior blog), we decided to prowl the streets of Paducah, Kentucky to see what we could see. The first things that caught our eye were the wonderful murals along the city's flood wall.

The Dafford Muralists, headed by Robert Dafford of Lafayette, Louisiana, captured Paducah's rich history in paintings on the floodwall overlooking the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. This visionary project began in the spring of 1996. The first twenty-panel timeline was completed in 2001 and the last paintings in the three block section in 2010.

Paducah was first settled as "Pekin" around 1821 by European Americans James and William Pore. The town was laid out by explorer and surveyor William Clark in 1827 and renamed Paducah. Although local lore long connected this name to an eponymous Chickasaw chief "Paduke" and his band of "Paducahs", authorities on the Chickasaw have since said that there was never any chief or tribe of that name, or anything like it. The Chickasaw language does not have related words. Instead, historians believe that Clark named the town for the Comanche people of the western plains. They were known by regional settlers as the Padoucas, from a Spanish transliteration of the Kaw word Pádoka.

However, Europeans where not the first to settle the Ohio River Valley. Between 1000 and 700 years ago, the Mississippians, who practiced large scale agriculture, established Kincaid Mounds in Illinois as the seat of their Chiefdom. These Native Americans of the Mississippian culture had occupied Kincaid from approximately 1050 AD to 1400 AD. They also had mound sites in and around Paducah.

Settlers were attracted to the community due to its location at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers.  

The William Clark Market House building was formerly the public market of Paducah.  Tasty country hams were sold at Paducah’s 1850 Market House for just nine cents a pound. Coffee beans were freshly ground for customers at just 10 cents a pound. Paducah was the site of many a coffee roasting and grinding enterprise. Bockman’s coffee was a Paducah favorite!

Today, the William Clark Market House is a History Museum containing articles and objects from throughout the history of Paducah.

Cold winter temperatures can wreak havoc on the Ohio River. Ice floes jam up river traffic and damage boats. During the winter of 1917-1918 the Ohio River froze along its entire length. Town folk could walk and even drive along the frozen river.

After the Civil War, Paducah became the midway stop between Louisville and Memphis on the railroad and emerged as a major river port. By the late 19th century, Paducah was a wholesaling and commercial center for the region. River barges still ply there way up and down the Ohio.

Paducah thrived due to its port facilities along the waterways that were used by steamboats.  A factory that manufactured red bricks was established and a foundry for making rail and locomotive components was built, ultimately contributing to a river and rail industrial economy. A Mikado steam engine, the last "Iron Horse" used by the I.C.R.R., serves as a memorial to the passage of the Steam Age. 

We stopped at the River Discovery Center to learn all about Paducah's maritime legacy. The Museum is filled with interactive water-filled exhibits, including a working model of a lock and dam. We started our visit by watching the 17-minute film about river history, flooding, recreation on the river, hydro-electric power and the towing industry.  After the movie, we toured the exhibits and marveled at the scale models of several large paddle wheelers.

There are several exhibits on the 1937 flood. After weeks of rain, the Ohio River at Paducah rose over its 50-foot flood stage level.  The flood was considered to be the worst natural disaster in Paducah’s history. As a result of the flood, the United States Army Corps of Engineers built the flood wall to replace the earthen levee that had once been in place. The museum building was one of the surviving buildings.

Next door to the museum is The Seamen’s Church Institute which advocates for the personal, professional, and spiritual well-being of merchant mariners around the world. Since the founding of its Navigational School in 1899, SCI has pioneered innovative methods and technologies in maritime education and has acted as an advocate for safety and training.

Thanks to SCI, the Museum has it's own state-of-the-art audio visual experience where you can “captain” a speed boat, a towboat or a Coast Guard vessel in a variety of scenarios, including daytime or nighttime.   The center’s simulator, the first of its kind to be open to the general public, was created by the same company that builds simulators for the maritime industry and navies around the world.   The simulator’s equipment is very realistic, and you will feel the vibration of the boat and the sounds will be similar to those experienced on each of the vessels. 

Kathy took the wheel of a speed boat and promptly got herself dizzy when she made a sharp turn to avoid a fisherman in a small boat. She later crashed into the side of a dock. Needless to say, Kathy won't be getting her boating license any time soon!  

After the museum, we toured the historic district. Covid has taken its toll on the downtown businesses. Many of the shops are still closed. However, things may be changing soon. We witnessed the Grand Opening of this gift shop. We stopped in and picked up a few Kentucky favorites like hush puppy mix, bourbon peach preserves and pecan syrup.

All our friends at Betty's RV have been posting wonderful pictures of all the delicious crawfish they have been enjoying. We were so jealous, we had to find a Cajun restaurant. 

Broussard’s Cajun Cuisine opened its doors in 1986 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It was born from the dream of Barron T. and Kathy Broussard bringing their love of the bayou to their new home. Broussard’s quickly became a local favorite, and established itself as the place for local art, music and fun – Louisiana style. The first Broussard’s Cajun Cuisine outside of Cape Girardeau opened its doors in Paducah, Kentucky in June 2020. 

Crawfish, gumbo and etouffee - Let the Good Times Roll!

 

Now if we can just persuade Betty to open a "Betty's RV Park North" somewhere up here in Kentucky...