Timeline story
Evan Williams on the Louisville wharf
Welsh immigrant Evan Williams (1755–1810) distilled corn whiskey on Louisville’s Ohio bank and by 1801 held a federal license for three stills (141, 130, and 93 gallons), shipping barrels by flatboat; he also served as the town’s first wharf master.
Markers and the modern Heaven Hill brand still call him Kentucky’s first commercial distiller (1783), but Filson historian Michael Veach notes that “first” claim bloomed late (1892) and that other settlers were likely running stills by 1779—so the legend outruns the paperwork even if Williams was a real early Louisville whiskey man.
Cite this story
Published . Last revised .
Chicago
Snowden, Shannon. "Evan Williams on the Louisville wharf." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 12, 2026. Last revised September 24, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/evan-williams-on-the-louisville-wharf/.
MLA
Snowden, Shannon. "Evan Williams on the Louisville wharf." Kentucky History Drive, published 12 Sept. 2026, last revised 24 Sept. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/evan-williams-on-the-louisville-wharf/.
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