Ohio River

===Nineteenth century===
During the nineteenth century, emigrants from Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky traveled by the river and settled along its northern bank. Known as [[butternut (people)|butternuts]], they formed the dominant culture in the southern portions of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois with a society that was primarily [[Southern United States|Southern]] in culture. Largely devoted to agricultural pursuits, they shipped much of their produce along the river to ports such as Cincinnati.<ref>Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848''. Oxford University Press, 2007. p.136-138</ref>

[[File:Karl Bodmer Travels in America (7).jpg|thumb|left|''Cave-in-rock, view on the Ohio'' (circa 1832, [[Cave-in-Rock State Park|Cave-In-Rock, Illinois]]): aquatint by [[Karl Bodmer]] from the book ''Maximilian, Prince of Wied's Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834'']]
Because the Ohio River flowed westward, it became a convenient means of westward movement by pioneers traveling from western Pennsylvania. After reaching the mouth of the Ohio, settlers would travel north on the Mississippi River to [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]]. There, some continued on up the [[Missouri River]], some up the Mississippi, and some farther west over land routes. In the early 19th century, [[river pirate]]s such as [[Samuel Mason]], operating out of [[Cave-In-Rock, Illinois]], waylaid travelers on their way down the river. They killed travelers, stealing their goods and scuttling their boats. The folktales about [[Mike Fink]] recall the [[keelboat]]s used for commerce in the early days of American settlement. The Ohio River boatmen inspired performer [[Dan Emmett]], who in 1843 wrote the song "[[The Boatman's Dance]]".

Trading boats and ships traveled south on the Mississippi to [[New Orleans]], and sometimes beyond to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and other ports in the Americas and Europe. This provided a much-needed export route for goods from the west since the trek east over the [[Appalachian Mountains]] was long and arduous. The need for access to the port of New Orleans by settlers in the Ohio Valley is one of the factors that led to the United States' [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803.