Paducah, the seat of McCracken county, is on the Ohio River below the mouth of the Tennessee River. It is served by I-24, US 45, US 60, and US 62. The site was chosen by George Rogers Clark during the Revolution and the first settlers probably arrived around 1821. The early settlement was known as Pekin. In 1827 the town was laid out by Clark's brother William who selected the name Paducah to honor the legendary Chickasaw leader, Chief Paduke (or it may be the name of a group of Comanches known as the Padoucas). Paducah became the county seat in 1832 when it was moved from Wilmington. The Paducah post office opened in 1828. The population in 1990 was 27,256.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has more miles of navigable inland waterways than any other state in the union including that part of the Ohio River which borders it along the north as well as parts of the Big Sandy, Green, Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers. Of the Ohio River's 981 miles, over 650 of those miles lie within Kentucky. The Ohio River basin accounts for 25 percent of the nation's waterborne commerce.

Numerical Facts on the River Industry in Paducah, Kentucky

$154,800,000

Estimated average annual economic impact of Paducah river-related businesses

$104,664,000

Annual payroll

5,507

Number of barges

3,000

Jobs in Paducah related to inland river transportation

272

Number of towboats

150

Number of companies that provide support services to the river industry

23

Number of towboat companies that have headquarters or personnel offices in Paducah

Paducah's river industry was, and still is, the city's life blood.   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 weighted 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 River.  Paducah continues to be the hub of the Marine Industry.