Steamboats of the Mississippi

Steamboats played a major role in the 19th-century development of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, allowing practical large-scale transport of passengers and freight both up- and down-river.

After the development of railroads, passenger traffic gradually switched to this faster form of transportation, but steamboats continued to serve Mississippi River commerce into the early 20th century.

Boilers used in early Mississippi steamboats were constructed from many small pieces of riveted cast iron, as the process to produce larger, stronger sheets of metal had not yet been developed.

[19] Due to the vast superiority riverboats then held over all forms of land transportation, passengers were willing to accept the high risk of a boiler explosion.

In addition, the Ohio and the Macon both exploded the following year in 1826, the Union and the Hornet in 1827, the Grampus in 1828, the Patriot and the Kenawa in 1829, the Car of Commerce and the Portsmouth in 1830, and the Moselle Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine in 1838.

Delta Queen at Paducah, Kentucky , 2007.
"Saloon of Mississippi River Steamboat Princess " ( Marie Adrien Persac , 1861), showing elaborate interior of a prewar Mississippi steamboat
"Enterprise on her fast trip to Louisville, 1815"
The Kate Adams, built in 1898 (the third boat of that name), was the fastest and best equipped on the river, and one of the most successful - with her steel hull, she survived until 1927. At one time, she was under the command of famed Captain Grant Marsh .