General William Clark Public Market-Paducah, KY
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 37° 05.258 W 088° 35.737
16S E 358186 N 4105784
Located on the wall of the market on Broadway St and S. 2nd St in downtown Paducah.
Waymark Code: WMR89P
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 05/25/2016
Views: 12
General William Clark Public Market
1827-1905
In 1827, more than 20 years after returning from his westward journey with Meriwether Lewis, Gen. William Clark came to western Kentucky and purchased 37,000 acres of land for five dollars. The tract included a small village called Pekin. Clark renamed it Paducah and set aside an area near the riverfront for a marketplace. The present Market House, built in 1905, is the third to exist here and is now a cultural center featuring the William Clark Market House Museum, with more than 4,800 square feet of exhibits.
One of the most intriguing is the reconstructed interior of the 1877 List Drugstore, with its oak gingerbread woodwork, stained-glass windows, and patent medicine displays. Other treasures are a life-size carving of U.S. statesman Henry Clay, which was created by a 12-year-old boy; Paducah’s first motorized fire truck (1913 vintage); and the rudder wheel and brass fog bell of the USS Paducah, which served in the two World Wars.
In the Civil War exhibit are a quilt made by Mrs. Robert E. Lee, furniture used by the Lincolns in the White House, and a parlor set used by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant when he occupied Paducah.
The block-long building also houses the Yeiser Art Center and the Market House Theatre.
Marker Name: General William Clark Public Market
Marker Location: City
Type of Marker: Building
Marker Number (for official markers): blank
Group(s) Responsible for placing Marker:
Paducah Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution August 1, 1956.
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Visit Instructions:
A picture of the site or anything specific to the text on marker.