Tom and I recently visited Maysville, Kentucky on our journey back to Ohio for my cancer surgery.  We try to find one interesting or historical place to stop each time we travel back to Ohio, to give us something new to see.

Maysville, Kentucky is a small city – about 9,000 people – on the southern bank of the Ohio River.  It is the county seat of Mason County and has a beautiful, old courthouse.

Maysville was founded by Simon Kenton in 1775.  A buffalo trace, used for centuries by Native Americans, made a natural path into the bluegrass region of Kentucky.  Simon Kenton built a blockhouse in the settlement and Daniel Boone established a trading post in 1784.  The town was incorporated in 1787.

Maysville became an important ferry point after Zane’s Trace was finished in Ohio.  By 1807 it was one of two principal port towns in Kentucky.  With the development of steamboat traffic on the river in 1811, Maysville boomed as a settlement.

As an important port on the Ohio River, Maysville exported bourbon, whiskey, hemp and tobacco.  It was a center of wrought iron manufacture, sending ironwork downriver to decorate the buildings of Cincinnati, Ohio, and New Orleans, Louisiana.  Manufacturing remains an important part of the modern economy.  Maysville was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, as the free state of Ohio was just across the river.

Today Maysville remains a bustling and busy little city with a nice downtown area and a lovely riverside park.  Tom and I stopped there primarily to see the Simon Kenton and Daniel Boone statues.  One of the rangers told us they were shaking hands, but it turns out they have their backs to each other.  The little memorial park also has bison wandering through.

Just across the street, ten beautiful murals depicting the history of Maysville decorate the concrete floodwalls.  A bike path and walkway share the space between the floodwall and the river.  On the day we were there, lots of people were out enjoying a wonderful afternoon in the park.

 

The Simon Kenton Memorial bridge spans the Ohio River and connects the town to Aberdeen, Ohio.  The bridge opened in 1931 but is still in use after being refurbished in 2001.  Another bridge, two miles away, also spans the Ohio River and allows people to miss driving through Maysville.

Maysville is a sweet little city, with plenty of history and a scenic setting on the Ohio River.  If you are ever heading through there, I invite you to take a few hours to walk around Maysville.  It is worth the stop.