About Ohio River Travel

At OhioRiver.Travel, we believe that historical flatboat travel should be accessible to those who research history to the end that they portray historical characters. That's why we started our company with the goal of creating exciting travel opportunities that cater to specific types of travelers--the Historical Re-Enactor.

The long version of a flatboat trip would start down the river that had been a popular building site for flatboats in history. There were many flatboats built along the Monongahela River in western Pennsylvania and in northern West Virginia. There were some flatboats built along the Yough River and floated down to its convergence with the Monongahela River. An example of this was the Rufus Putnam party from New England, chronicled so well in the book The Pioneers by David McCullough.

The reason for so many flatboats having been built in the Monongahela River Valley was the westward expansion of the new United States, especially after the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. That ordinance established the orderly plan for settlement, resulting in the lawful drawing of boundaries for deeds so that people could rely on courts to uphold real estate purchases and ownerships. The well-known frontiersman and surveyor Daniel Boone built on land not completely under his control in view of the courts, thereby forcing Boone to abandon his work and home. It is important to get the paperwork correct in advance.

Here is a colorized version of the famous woodcut depicting settlers floating downriver aboard a flatboat. Notice that the people bring with them what they need to settle to start a new life, far away from neighbors and far from stores. Notice also that there is tied alongside a small boat that would be sent to shore with a long line to land the big, clumsy flatboat. The sweeps may have been helpful to maneuver the big, clumsy boat. However, your author has had limited success with landing a flatboat using the sweeps. That one success was under ideal conditions: the current was calm enough that the calm winds cancelled progress downriver. That situation allowed the crew plenty of time to use the large and heavy sweeps to work the big, clumsy Flatboat SPIRIT OF KANAWHA into shore. That was in Malden at the landing at the home of James Thibeault, above Charleston, WV, on the Great Kanawha River in 1988.

A more likely method to control the big, clumsy flatboat would be to use a flying mud-sail. The artwork does not show what is underwater. Harlan Hubbard used a mud-sail under his shantyboat to keep his boat in the current on his seven-year trip from Cincinnati to the bayous outside New Orleans. Read Shantyboat: A River Way of Life!

The main journey will proceed along the Ohio River, with the final destination for the winter at a marina in Aurora, Indiana. Key historic and scenic points along the route will include:

· Pittsburgh, PA: At the Point State Park, where the Monongahela River blends with the Allegheny River, resulting in the beginning of the Ohio River, the flatboat begins the public portion of the trip with historical interpreters. Contra dancing available in Pittsburgh!

· Wheeling, WV: Rivertown community visit and educational programming

· Sistersville, WV: old, gorgeous mansions and ride the ferry across the Ohio River

· Marietta, OH: The Riverboat Town and Ohio River Museum. Read The Pioneers by David McCullough! Take a sight-seeing riverboat ride or a dinner cruise on the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers! Visit ancient “Sacra Via” earthworks!

· Parkersburg, WV: Take a dinner cruise or a sight-seeing trip on the Ohio River

· Blennerhassett Island State Historic Park, WV: 

· Return to Marietta for a second visit

· Second visit to Parkersburg, WV, and to Blennerhassett Island

· Pt. Pleasant, WV: River Museum and history in art on the flood walls

· Augusta, KY: an authentic Bar & Grill and ride the ferry across the Ohio River. A ferry has been operating here since 1797.

· Old Lock 38, OH: River Museum and picnic grounds and a giant, modern yurt

· New Richmond, OH: floating restaurant and the two air scoops from the Steamer DELTA QUEEN (built 1926) stationed in front of the former home of Commodore Ernest E. Wagner

· Cincinnati, OH: Urban riverfront exploration. Read/Peruse TALL STACKS: A Celebration of America's Steamboat Heritage by J. Miles Wolf, featuring many photos of the Flatboat LIVING WATERS scattered among big, metal excursion vessels from many cities around America

· Newport, KY: An aquarium, dinner cruises, and sight-seeing trips on the Ohio River

· Covington, KY: floating restaurant “Mike Fink” aboard a former steam towboat

· Anderson Ferry: Restaurant on the riverbank and ride the ferry across the Ohio River

· Aurora, IN, to visit Captain Don Sanders, mentor to many young rivermen. We will invite Capt. Don Sanders to join us for the next leg of the trip. Read The River: River rat to steamboatman, riding ‘magic river spell’ to 65-year adventure!

· Rising Sun, IN: Ride the ferry across the Ohio River.

· Rabbit Hash, KY, the Center of the Universe

· Madison, IN: 130 blocks of architectural splendor

· Payne Hollow, KY, former home of Harlan and Anna Hubbard, shantyboaters and musicians. Read Harlan’s Shantyboat: A River Way of Life! Google his paintings!

· Louisville, KY: Locks, river engineering, and city history

· Upriver return to Aurora, IN: Journey’s End Celebration Event and prepare for winter in a marina

· My first trip on an historical flatboat was aboard the Flatboat SPIRIT OF KANAWHA in 1988. Two years prior, in Tennessee in 1986, she was known as the Flatboat DOUBLE EAGLE. This boat was built by John Cooper for an organization with a goal of calling attention to the plights of the Golden Eagle and of the Bald Eagle. I found her in Nashville, TN, after delivering the motor vessel (m.v.) CAPT. BUTLER from Baton Rouge, LA, down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then east through the Mississippi Sound, north through Mobile Bay, north through the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TENN-TOM), down the Tennessee River, across the Cumberland Canal, up the Cumberland River to Nashville. My first sight of that flatboat was as if it were sneaking into a nice marina with modern plastic boats. I guessed that the authorities would come around and throw them out of the marina. What an assumption to make! Since then, I have learned that historical riverboats and historical replicas are treasures. 

Our team is made up of experienced travel professionals who are passionate about helping people explore the world. We work hard to ensure that every trip we plan is tailored to meet the unique needs and preferences of our clients.

Our flatboats are built by Captain John Cooper of Gallatin, TN, along the Cumberland River. Visit CooperFlatboats.net to see the many wooden boats he has built! Captain John and your host (Captain Bela K. Berty) met in 1986 in Nashville, TN, in a marina aboard his Flatboat DOUBLE EAGLE. Two years later, that boat became the Flatboat SPIRIT OF KANAWHA. In 1988, Captain John came for three visits to his old boat, each of which was a big deal:

1. In the Spring of 1988, at the beginning of our trip down the Great Kanawha River, Captain John and I and the new crew of the Flatboat SPIRIT OF KANAWHA were joined by a team from the National Geographic Society. Their work is found in GREAT AMERICAN JOURNEYS, published 1989. Many copies are available online.

2. At the end of the Summer of 1988, Captain John returned to his old flatboat for the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta in Charleston, WV. He was amazed at the large crowds. Of course, he was thrilled to be able to lead several groups of visitors around the boat he built.

3. At the end of our flatboat trip in Cincinnati, OH, Captain John returned to the Flatboat SPIRIT OF KANAWHA to be amazed by the large crowds that lined up peacefully for a tour aboard his old boat. The schedule of port visits for the flatboat was designed to end at Cincinnati in time for the bicentennial of the city. Cincinnati was settled by folks floating down the Ohio River aboard a flatboat. Therefore, the Cincinnatians welcomes us heartily. Moreover, this city chose to have as its big celebration a gathering of large passenger boats with tall smokestacks; therefore, the name of the festival was TALL STACKS. 

As a result of the media attention and the many large crowds visiting the flatboat, Captain John Cooper steered his dock-building enterprise into building historical flatboats for museums and private individuals. We thank God for skills and for trees!