Ohio River

==Cities and towns along the river==
Along the banks of the Ohio are some of the largest cities in their respective states:{{NoteTag|Cities and towns of pop. at least 25,000 and among the 10 largest in the state, and whose municipal boundary comes within less than a mile of the river. [[Florence, Kentucky]], a city of 33,500 and that state's eighth-largest, for example, is a near miss because its northernmost boundary only comes within 2.7 miles of the river.}} [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], the third-largest city on the river and second-largest in Pennsylvania; [[Cincinnati]], the second-largest city on the river and third-largest in Ohio; [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], the largest city on the river and in Kentucky as well; [[Evansville, Indiana|Evansville]], the third-largest city in Indiana; [[Owensboro, Kentucky|Owensboro]], the fourth-largest city in Kentucky; and three of the five largest cities in West Virginia—[[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]] (second), [[Parkersburg, West Virginia|Parkersburg]] (fourth), and [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] (fifth). Only Illinois, among the border states, has no significant cities on the river. There are hundreds of other cities, towns, villages and unincorporated populated places on the river, most of them very small.

Cities along the Ohio are also among the oldest cities in their respective states and among the oldest cities in the United States west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] (by date of founding): [[Old Shawneetown, Illinois]], 1748; [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], 1758; [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], 1769; [[Huntington, West Virginia]], 1775; [[Louisville, Kentucky]], 1779; [[Clarksville, Indiana]], 1783; [[Maysville, Kentucky]], 1784; [[Martin's Ferry, Ohio]], 1785; [[Marietta, Ohio|Marietta]], Ohio, 1788; [[Cincinnati|Cincinnati, Ohio]], 1788; [[Manchester, Ohio]], 1790; [[Beaver, Pennsylvania]], 1792; and [[Golconda, Illinois]], 1798.

Other cities of interest include [[Cairo, Illinois]], at the confluence of the Ohio with the Mississippi River and the southernmost and westernmost city on the river; and [[Beaver, Pennsylvania]], the site of colonial [[Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania)|Fort McIntosh]] and the northernmost city on the river. It is 548 miles as the crow flies between Cairo and Pittsburgh, but 981 miles by water. Direct water travel over the length of the river is obstructed by the Falls of the Ohio just below Louisville, Kentucky. The [[Ohio River Scenic Byway]] follows the Ohio River through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio ending at [[Steubenville, Ohio]], on the river.

Before there were cities, there were colonial forts. These forts played a dominant role in the [[French and Indian War]], [[Northwest Indian War]] and pioneering settlement of [[Ohio Country]]. Many cities got their start at or adjacent to the forts. Most were abandoned by 1800. Forts along the Ohio river include [[Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)]], [[Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania)]], [[Fort Randolph (West Virginia)]], [[Fort Henry (West Virginia)]], [[Fort Harmar]] (Ohio), [[Fort Washington (Ohio)]], and [[Fort-on-Shore]] and [[Fort Nelson (Kentucky)]]. Short-lived, special-purpose forts included [[Fort Steuben]] (Ohio), [[Fort Finney (Indiana)|Fort Finney]] (Indiana), [[Fort Finney (Ohio)|Fort Finney]] (Ohio) and [[Fort Gower]] (Ohio). There was also the [[Newport Barracks]] (Kentucky) in the 19th century.