CINCINNATI — All aboard the steamboat Natchez! Built in 1975 to resemble the pocket boats of old, the vessel is one of two remaining steam-powered riverboats in America and is back in Cincinnati for the first time in 20 years.

The ship is the ninth steamer to bear the name Natchez and hails from New Orleans. It typically moseys up and down the Mississippi River offering jazz and dinner cruises, but it recently made a weeklong cruise northeast to paddle on the Ohio.

The Natchez is one of nine riverboats from seven river cities participating in this week’s America’s River Roots Festival. The country’s other operational steamboat, the Belle of Louisville, is also in town for the event.

Steven Nicoulin, the Natchez’s captain, gave us a behind-the-scenes tour a day after docking at the Cinci

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