Laura is a former steamboat built in 1835, originating from a shipyard in Louisville, Kentucky.

On September 2, 1835, it towed an armed schooner to wage a counterattack against a Mexican cruiser.

[1] Early in 1837, the original developers of Houston, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, employed the Laura to demonstrate that Buffalo Bayou was a navigable river as far as their town site.

This demonstration voyage also included passengers such as John Kirby Allen, Moseley Baker, Benjamin C. Franklin, and Francis Lubbock.

[3] The last known sighting of the Laura was in June 1840, when she was seen under tow by the steamship Constitution after breaking both drive shafts in the Brazos River.