For a limited time, the River Discovery Center invites visitors to experience Driftwood, a visiting exhibit that brings the river journey of Harlan and Anna Hubbard to Paducah.

In 1946, Harlan and Anna Hubbard set off from Brent, Kentucky, in a shantyboat Harlan built by hand. Together, they traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers toward New Orleans and the Louisiana bayous. Their journey was rooted in a desire to live more simply, closer to nature, and with more time for art, writing, and the world around them.

Driftwood shares a story of river travel, creativity, independence, and a life shaped by water. It invites visitors to step into the Hubbards’ world and consider why their story continues to speak to people who are drawn to art, history, nature, and the idea of choosing a different path.

Driftwood shares a story of river travel, creativity, independence, and a life shaped by water. It invites visitors to step into the Hubbards’ world and consider why their story continues to speak to people who are drawn to art, history, nature, and the idea of choosing a different path.

Part of what makes Driftwood especially meaningful is how naturally it belongs in the Founders Room. Displayed inside the oldest building in downtown Paducah, the exhibit feels closely connected to the river story it tells. Visitors can move through Harlan and Anna Hubbard’s journey, then look out from the same room toward the Ohio River, the waterway that shaped their travels, their creative work, and the life they chose together.

The setting gives the exhibit a sense of place that is hard to recreate anywhere else. It allows visitors to experience Driftwood as a story rooted in Kentucky, shaped by the river, and shared in one of Paducah’s most historic riverfront spaces.