Curious Louisville

For our latest installment of Curious Louisville, WFPL listener Ben Taylor came to us with this inquiry: “Why is Louisville located at this particular point on the Ohio River instead of somewhere else?” Submitted Curious question asker Ben Taylor. The answer lies mostly in the river — and the Falls of the Ohio. At the Portland Museum just west of downtown Louisville, Teresa Lee took me on a topographical tour of the Falls of the Ohio, past and present. Lee is the museum’s education and visitor services coordinator. For early navigators, the prehistoric rock ledge formations and rapids that once interrupted the flow of much of the Ohio River near Portland were an impediment. But they were integral to the development of Louisville. Lee said prior to construction and expansion of the Portland Canal in the 1800s and — much later — the McAlpine Locks and Dam, navigating the falls was dangerous work for pilots of Ohio River vessels. “You had to make a decision. There were times of year you had to stop and get out o