trade transportation arts and culture
Paducah is located at the confluence of the Ohio and
Tennessee rivers, between St Louis and Nashville. The city is the hub of a
micropolitan area comprising Kentucky and Illinois counties. First settled in
1821 and laid out by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, it was
named Padoucas, the word for Comanche from a Spanish transliteration.
Trade and
Transportation
A River
and Rail Economy was the key to Paducah’s development as a port, a
red brick making factory, a foundry for making rail and locomotive components and
dry dock facilities for steamboats and towboats comprised the town
infrastructure. Thanks to its proximity to coal fields, Paducah was the home
port for barge companies and an important railway hub connecting Chicago with
the Gulf of Mexico.
The Paducah-McCraken County River Port Authority provides maritime services for the rural regions of Western Kentucky,
Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, and Northwestern Tennessee. It
specializes in bulk, agricultural and containerized cargoes. The agency
specializes in bulk, agricultural, general and containerized cargoes, and
operates a Foreign Trade Zone in the only Marine Highway Designation on the
Ohio River and the only Marine Highway port on the river that is designated for
container service.
Arts and Culture
The National
Quilt Museum is a cultural destination that attracts
quilters and art enthusiasts to the Paducah area. The museum features
professional quilt and fiber art exhibits that are rotated throughout the year
and is the largest single tourist attraction in the city.
Paducah is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network
The Paducah
Wall to Wall program was begun by mural artists on
the downtown flood wall in 1996; over 50 murals address subjects ranging from Native
American history, river barges, steamboats and local African-American heritage.