The Maiden Voyage of the New Orleans
Event Details
The “NEW ORLEANS” was the first steamboat to travel from Pittsburgh to New Orleans on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The 1811 – 1812 voyage was delayed by low water at the Falls of the Ohio and threatened by the New Madrid earthquakes. Even though the only major ports of call were Cincinnati (pop 750), Louisville (1350), and Natchez (1500), the voyage took almost three months with the bulk of the non-traveling time spent in Louisville. Without exaggeration, it is hard to say whether it is the boat or Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt (the captain’s wife), who is the story’s heroine. Both set new standards. Either way, the tale is the foundation for Louisville’s continuing tradition as a river city and the fact that the Western Waters eventually carried more freight than the British Empire. Please come join us to hear one of the best river sagas of all.
Ken Golliher is a member of the Board of Directors of both Historic Locust Grove and the Office of Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Kentucky. He developed an interest in steamboats while leading the “Steamboat Captains’ Tour” as a docent at Cave Hill Cemetery and has continued to research and write on the topic. This semester he is teaching a four-week class at OLLI, “Steamboats on Kentucky’s Ohio River.” He is a graduate of Ball State University and the University of Louisville School of Law. Prior to his 2018 retirement, Ken was an educator and a co-owner of Pegasus Educational Services, LLC, a bank training firm.
