Paducah, Kentucky, was founded by Gen. William Clark in 1827 at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers and was named for the legendary Chickasaw Chief Paduke. It is the county seat of McCracken County and the home of Vice President Alben W. Barkley, for whom the airport is named. Nearby is an Atomic Energy Plant. Paducah was the birthplace of author Irvin S. Cobb and the home of Linn Boyd, a member of Congress, Speaker from 1851 to 1855, and sponsor of the Texas Annexation Resolution. During the Civil War, the town was first captured by Union Gen. U.S. Grant and later served as headquarters for Gen. Lew Wallace and Gen. Wm. T. Sherman. It also became a railroad and river traffic center.