Ohio River Images: Cincinnati to Louisville in the Packet Boat Era

Images of America: Ohio

by Russell G. Ryle

What was it like to live, work, play, and travel along the Ohio River in the early part of the twentieth century? What was the look and feel of the towns and villages that lined its banks in the days before private cars and highways? From 1900 to 1930, the Ohio River was the most economical and reliable mode of transporting goods and people from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Louisville, Kentucky, and to the dozens of towns that lay between. This fascinating pictorial history gives readers a glimpse
into the past of this area, and its extensive river heritage. A Sunday cruise down the Ohio River was always enjoyable, but traveling the waters was not always easy. Spring flooding reached far inland, disrupting households and businesses. Pilots' navigational skills were challenged by swiftly-moving water filled with floating debris. Ice wreaked havoc on boats and shore facilities in the winter. Low water in the summer often stopped navigation completely. But the boats were too important to let such difficulties stand in their way. They endured and served the area faithfully until hard economic times and a new reliance on trucks and automobiles ended the packet trade in the early 1930s.

Genres: History

130 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2000

Reviews

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

From 2000, out of the "Images of America: Ohio" series comes Russel Ryle's entry on "Ohio River Images: Cincinnati to Louisville in the Packet Boat Era". This book looks at just how life on the Ohio River was in the days when these types of boats were the primary method of transportation along the river primarily for people. The book also looks at the perils of life on the river particularly with regards to floods and how communities in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky had their lives based around these ships. Granted that era would end in 1940 as transportation would change things, but Ryle's book is a nice look at a simpler time on the Ohio.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell G. Ryle, Ohio River Images: Cincinnati to Louisville in the Packer Boat Era (Arcadia, 2000)

I've been reading Arcadia Press books this year-- though not nearly as many as I'd hoped to by July-- and I've found different strengths in each of them (for the most part). In contrast to William Burg's excellent books on Sacramento, which focus mostly on people and their stories, Russell Ryle's book on the southern stretch of the Ohio River focuses on the river itself for most of its length, talking more about trade routes then the people who plied them. Given the subject matter, I liked this approach a great deal. Overall, though, the book made me wonder: in an age of four-dollar gasoline, has anyone put forth the
idea of going back to packet boats? You'd have to think that, in the long run, they'd be a lot cheaper than eighteen-wheelers. The pleasure-cruise business has continued (albeit in a very limited capacity), so why not trade? ****

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focused visual reference work on the river's place in commercial traffic. A good secondary reference work that has collected primary details about this stretch of the river traffic and tied them together chronologically and geographically with the river charts.