For centuries, the Ohio River has been a main thoroughfare for travelers and industry, tracing the border of Northern Kentucky on its way from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi.
Travis Brown
But the trip has not always been a smooth one. Sometimes the river would fall to a level so low people could walk across it from Covington to Cincinnati. Other times it would be clogged with large trees or other debris, making it impassable for maritime traffic.
In 1878, Congress authorized the canalization of the Ohio, dredging a six-foot-deep, navigable channel along the length of the river and beginning the construction of an elaborate system of locks and dams.
Travis Brown, in his role as an amateur historian and a volunteer with the Kenton County Historical Society, will explain how these structures and those that followed changed the face of river transportation in Kentucky during the next NKY History Hour at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 10.
To register and participate in the free virtual presentation, presented by Behringer-Crawford Museum, click here. Information on how to connect to the Zoom session will be sent after registration.
Travis Brown is a deputy with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, currently serving as the school resource officer at Ockerman Elementary School in Florence. He retired from the Fort Mitchell Police Department in 2014 after serving with the Kentucky State Police and Fort Wright Police.
He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Louisville, earning a B.A. in police administration. In 2015, he earned an M.P.A. at NKU. Also in 2015, he became an adjunct professor at Xavier University’s School of Criminal Justice.
Involved in preserving local history, he currently serves as an executive board member of the Kenton County Historical Society.
Hosted by Shane Noem and Tara Johnson-Noem, vice president of the BCM Board of Trustees, NKY History Hour is a weekly offering of Behringer-Crawford Museum focused on Northern Kentucky history, featuring local authors, historians and archaeologists.
NKY History Hour presentations are currently free to the public but may become a BCM members-only benefit in the future. To support NKY History Hour and access many other entertaining and thought- provoking programs for free, join BCM today here.
