River, iron, and rail when intertwined make up a rope that links the tri-state river cities of Huntington, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky; Ironton, Ohio; and Portsmouth, Ohio.
The Ohio River provided a quicker and convenient way for the pre-industrial settlers in eastern United States to move westward in their unending search for land, riches, and prominence. Iron manufacturing in the Hocking Valley brought jobs and stability that seemed at the...