Our Firm’s Office at the Cannon Dryer House

Circa 1866 — 420 Ann Street, Frankfort, Kentucky

Riverboat captain John W. Cannon was born in Hancock County, Kentucky in 1820. Fifty years later he would become the most famous man in America at the time. At nineteen years of age he went to New Orleans and started his career in steam boating. Over the years he built, owned, and commanded fifteen large sidewheel steamboats. Before the Civil War he began building this house on Ann Street, but it was not finished until 1866. His wife Louisa was a granddaughter of Reverend Philip Slater Fall, one of the founders of Frankfort's First Christian Church. A son, John Stout Cannon, was married to one of the early directors of research for the Kentucky Historical Society, Jouett Taylor.

National notoriety came to John Cannon on July 4, 1870 when his steamboat Robert E. Lee defeated the Natchez in a Mississippi River race between New Orleans and St. Louis. The nearly 1200 miles was covered in 3 days, 18 hours and about 30 minutes. Three separate accounts gave three different times for the minutes. Regardless of the exact time, no other boat race created so much interest. Thousands lined the waterfronts to see the boats pass. At night the riverbanks were ablaze with campfires. The Natchez required 4 days and 51 minutes to finish.

The Lee was constructed at Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1866 at a cost of nearly $250,000. When it was discovered that the boat would be named for General Lee, public feeling was so negative that threats were made to burn it. Cannon moved the unfinished boat to the Portland wharf at Louisville where it was completed. The Natchez was built at Cincinnati and was launched in 1869. Its captain, also a native Kentuckian, was Tom P. Leathers of Covington.

The race between the steamers came about through a rivalry that grew out of their competition for trade in the lower Mississippi. On different days of the week both boats ran on a regular basis between New Orleans and Vicksburg carrying huge shipments of cotton. With supremacy of the river on the line, it was inevitable that the boats would race. Both steamers had the support of many friends and the rival captains finally agreed to a race. The two captains made no wagers and there was no “purse” or monetary reward for the winner. The only thing at stake was honor on the river.

In 1995 on the 125th anniversary of the “Great Steamboat Race,” modern day riverboats recreated the famous race to honor Cannon, featuring the Delta Queen and its sister ship, the Mississippi Queen. Delta Queen officials say Cannon’s record still stands, since the contest that year was somewhat slower, involving an 11-day cruise.

Captain John Cannon died April 18, 1882, and lies buried in the Frankfort cemetery.

© Copyright A Walking Tour of Historic Frankfort, by Russell Hatter and Gene Burch.