Historical Marker

First Coal by Rail

Robert Triplett built the first railway in Kentucky, 1826. Coal was moved from Bon Harbor hills to steamboats on the Ohio River. Triplett was the first to get coal substituted for wood as fuel on river boats below Louisville. Coal was shipped south, sold by barrel. Built cotton, woolen mills and laid out town of Bon Harbor in 1842, which failed.

Originally installed on October 22, 1964, the marker was updated and moved to this location in 2018.