The Wabash and Ohio Rivers have been used for hundreds of years as a means of transportation, commerce and settlement. Join us for this Illinois Humanities sponsored program to learn more about these and other rivers' roles throughout history!

Robert "Bob" Swenson, a retired architect; SIU Carbondale professor emeritus; historic preservation consultant; photographer; old-time musician; is now an author. Born at Rosiclare and raised at Metropolis along the lower Ohio River, he has degrees from SIU Carbondale and the Yale School of Architecture. While practicing architecture for 42-years, he taught at SIU Carbondale for 24-years. His unique multi-disciplinary summer course received a Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Award from Landmarks Illinois. His National Register of Historic Places nominations, Historic Structure Reports, and preservation/restoration projects required extensive museum, library, and photograph collections research. 

Swenson co-facilitated a Library of Congress grant to research and create museum and sculptural projects commemorating Lewis & Clark’s southernmost Illinois activities, and assisted SIU archaeology teams documenting historic sites, including an 1800s Ohio River flatboat discovered at America, Illinois. Swenson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society. 

In retirement, Swenson made river history presentations throughout Illinois (as an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar), western Kentucky, and Missouri, and an Illinois Humanities consultant for its Smithsonian Waterways exhibits. His recently completed a book about lower Ohio River shipyards and steamboats is scheduled to be released by the SIU Press in May 2026.