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. Using steam power, riverboats were developed so that they could navigate in shallow waters as well as upriver against strong currents. After the development of railroads, passenger traffic gradually switched to this faster form of transportation, but steamboats continued to serve the Mississippi River commerce into the early 20th century. A small number of steamboats are still used for tourist excursions in the 21st century. Delta Queen at Paducah, Kentucky, 2007. "Saloon of Mississippi River Steamboat Princess" (Marie Adrien Persac, 1861), showing elaborate interior of a prewar Mississippi steamboat Golden age of steamboats "Enterprise on her fast trip to Louisville, 1815" The historical roots of the prototypical Mississippi steamboat, or Western Rivers steamboat, can be traced to designs by easterners like Oliver Evans, John Fitch, Daniel French, Robert Fulton, Nicholas Roosevelt, James Rumsey, and John Stevens. In the span of six years, the evolution of the prototypical Mississippi