Ohio River Towns in Kentucky

Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site, Kentucky State Parks. 

John Colter, one of the “Nine Young Men from Kentucky” was born in Virginia, but grew up in Maysville, Kentucky. After the Expedition, Colter would explore the area that today is Yellowstone National Park. A downtown marker recognized Colter’s contributions to the Expedition.

Henderson, Kentucky also commemorates the Corps of Discovery.
It’s believed that William Clark was a friend of John James Audubon, who lived in the area, so the keelboat likely made a short stop at Henderson in November 1803.

Paducah is where the Tennessee River enters the Ohio -- William Clark had connections in the area following the Expedition. He surveyed the town and purchased approximately 37,000 acres of land where the city now stands. Several Lewis and Clark sites may be found in the city, including life-size statues of the Captains and Seaman at the National Quilt Museum, and the William Clark Market House Museum, which shares the history of the Paducah area.

At the western edge of Kentucky you’ll find Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site, an archaeological site of the Mississippian culture. Lewis and Clark camped in the area in November 1803, visiting the mounds as well as the remains of old Fort Jefferson, built by George Rogers Clark in 1780.