Jacob Strader (steamboat)

The Jacob Strader[1] was a side wheel packet steamboat built in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1853.

She provided the ultimate in luxurious travel between Cincinnati and Louisville up to the time of the Civil War.

She was described by Thomas Nichols, a writer and traveler of that time, as "the finest boat, all things considered, that I ever saw on the American waters.

Serving these rivers was a network of commercial and private flatboats and riverboats like the Jacob Strader, which moved goods and services throughout the middle part of the country.

During the Civil War, the Jacob Strader side wheel packet was used to transport sick and wounded soldiers.