Portsmouth from the Kentucky Shore illustration

Engraved print showing the city of Portsmouth from the Kentucky shore, from "Historical Collections of Ohio" by Henry Howe, 1847. Along the river are two steamboats called the Scioto and the Ashland, and the U.S. Hotel can be seen on the Portsmouth shore. Portsmouth is the county seat of Scioto County, and was formally laid out by Henry Massie in 1803. Located at the intersection of the Ohio River and the Scioto River, Portsmouth grew quickly due to the traffic on the rivers. The town continued to prosper with the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal during the 1820s and the 1830s