Portsmouth, Ohio — the fiddler-rich city where Ed Haley frequently played during the Depression — is now a fiddlers’ graveyard. Historically, it was settled some two hundred years ago and has been the seat of government for Scioto County since 1808. For most of its existence, Portsmouth has been an industrial town comparable to Huntington or Ashland in that section of Ohio River country, although in recent years it has focused on tourism. It is accessed by Route 52 in Ohio or, more commonly, by Route 23 from Ashland. This latter route, also known as Country Music Highway (a real “speed trap”), runs northwest across the Boyd County line past the Flatwoods exit (hometown of Billy Ray Cyrus) and to Greenup, home of the late Jesse Stuart, Eastern Kentucky’s most famous writer. At Greenup’s 124 Front Street, the former home of Doc Holbrook still stands facing the mighty Ohio River. Beyond there, for a short distance, exists a stretch of rolling hills with the mighty Ohio flowing just out of view and almost no economic development in sight. Eventually, if traveling west on Route 23, South Portsmouth presents itself. South Portsmouth is connected to its mother city of Portsmouth by a bridge over the Ohio. Portsmouth is a beautiful river town. Its Boneyfiddle district, which basically includes Front and Second Streets between Market Street and the campus of Shawnee State University, showcases Victorian era buildings with a few antique stores and cafes and a series of well-painted city historical murals on a nearby floodwall. It is depressed economically but has a strong river heritage, which seems to be nearly forgotten in Ashland and Huntington.

     Traditionally, Portsmouth has been a major stopping point for folks traveling in the Ohio Valley west to Cincinnati — whether it was loggers in Milt Haley’s day or musicians in Ed Haley’s day. Portsmouth was home to Asa Neal, a fiddler I ranked as second only to Ed Haley. Ed was very familiar with Portsmouth, as well as the nearby town of New Boston, where he played on sidewalks and in contests. Portsmouth had also been important in the life of his wife Ella, who had lived there at least twice before her marriage: at 913 10^th Street and later at 1124 Gay Street (each address being in close proximity of each other).

     Traveling west from Portsmouth, after a considerable distance through the northeastern Kentucky countryside, is Maysville, a former tobacco center and home of the late Rosemary Clooney, famous actress and singer. Beyond there is Augusta, the hometown of actor George Clooney, and beyond there still is the well-known metro area of Cincinnati, including Covington.