Jacob Yoder (August 11, 1758 – April 7, 1832) was a pioneer of Swiss descent. He was born in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and died in Spencer County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. After serving through the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in the Pennsylvania line, he built a large boat at Fort Red Stone (now Brownsville), on

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-cen ...

, which he freighted with flour and carried to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

in May, 1782. With the profits of this venture he bought peltries which he sold in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, investing the proceeds in sugar for the Philadelphia market. This was the first attempt to navigate the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for commercial purposes. Subsequently, he settled in Spencer County, Kentucky, and took part in equipping and keeping in the field the military forces in the northwest territory. He is known for his invention of the

flatboat A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with a ...

. Beechland, the home in Spencer County, Kentucky which he built in 1804, survives and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. With FLAT BOAT INVENTOR! HISTORY OF JACOB YODER'S HOME
BEECHLAND OR VAUCLUSE! You Tube.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoder, Jacob United States Army soldiers American pioneers 1758 births 1832 deaths People from Reading, Pennsylvania People from Spencer County, Kentucky American people of Swiss descent People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution