Owensboro KY (Kentucky)

Owensboro KY is an Ohio River cruise port and city in Daviess County (Kentucky USA). By population (around 60,000) Owensboro is ranked Kentucky's 4th-largest - following Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green. The city is approx 107 mi (172 km) southwest of Louisville and approx 37 mi (60 km) southeast of Evansville Indiana.

As cruise port, Owensboro KY is included in the regular schedule of one of the USA's largest river cruise companies - AQV-American Queen Voyages/AQSC-Steamboat Company, with the paddlewheel riverboat American Duchess (2017-newbuild).

Next table shows AQSC's 7-night/8-day itinerary from Louisville KY to Clarksville TN, with prices from ~USD 2700 per person (double-occupancy outside cabin rates).

Owensboro KY's major tourist attractions include the annual events International Bar-B-Q Festival (May), Apple Festival, ROMP (bluegrass music festival), Lanham Brothers Jamboree (April through September at Diamond Lake Resort Theater), Friday After 5 (outdoor live band concerts on the riverfront), PumpkinFest (September, at Moreland Park), Men Who Cook (fundraiser with celebrity chefs). Among the city's landmarks are Ben Hawes Golf Course and Park (270 acres / 1,2 km2), Museum of Science and History, International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, RiverPark Center, Smothers Park, Western Kentucky Botanical Garden, Temple Adath Israel (1877-built, one of the USA's oldest synagogues).

Two bridges (over Ohio River) connect the city with Indiana - Owensboro Bridge (1940-opened, length 2018 ft / 615 m, continuous truss bridge / without hinges or joints) and William Huston Natcher Bridge (2002-opened, length 4505 ft / 1373 m, cable-stayed, carries Highway 231, links to Rockport IN).

The settlement (initially named Yellow Banks) was founded in 1797, renamed to Owensborough in 1817 and later shortened to Owensboro. In the 19th-century, the town developed bourbon whiskey manufacturing, having several distilleries, the largest of which (Glenmore Distillery Company) is still operational and currently owned by Sazerac Company Inc (1850-founded, headquartered in Metairie LA, principal office in Louisville KY, owned by the William Goldring family, annual revenue ~USD 1 billion).

Historically, Owensboro KY is best known as the site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806) wintered prior to exploring the USA's western portion (following the Louisiana Purchase) and as the site of the USA's last public hanging (August 14, 1936) when in downtown was hanged the 26-year-old Rainey Bethea (convicted and sentenced for raping and murdering the 70-year-old Lischa Edwards). Owensboro's most famous citizen is Johnny Depp (1963-born actor and movie producer).

The current-day Owensboro KY started to develop in the late-19th-century. City's main industries include tobacco production ("Red Man" brand), Wagon Company (1884-founded, one of the USA's largest wagon manufacturers), Carriage Woodstock Company (1887-founded, in 1912-15 produced the "Ames" brand automobiles / as Ames Motor Car Company, later developed furniture manufacturing / as Ames Corporation), Kentucky Electrical Lamp Company (1899-founded, acquired by Kentucky Radio Company in 1918, by General Electric in 1945 and by MPD Inc in 1987), Modern Welding Company Inc (1932-founded, USA's largest manufacturer of steel storage tanks for flammable-combustible liquids), Texas Gas Transmission Corporation (1948-founded, currently part of Loews Corporation). Today, the city's top private employers are Owensboro Health, US Bank Home Mortgage, Toyotetsu Mid-America, Specialty Foods Group, Walmart Inc, UniFirst Corporation (uniforms and protective clothing manufacturing and rentals), Glenmore Distillery Company.