Cincinnati Riverboat
TEACHERS
This photograph was published by the Detroit Publishing Company and was taken around 1906. Much of Cincinnati’s growth in the early 1800’s was due to its riverboats and the city’s location on the river. The Vesta, built in 1816, was the first steamboat to be built in Cincinnati at Fulton shipyards. The Zebulon Pike, also built in Cincinnati, was the first vessel designed exclusively for passenger service, the first official mail carrier and the first steamboat to travel to St. Louis. In 1820, the journey from Cincinnati to St. Louis lasted eight days and cost $25. By 1852 over 8,000 landings were recorded in Cincinnati, singling the peak of the steamboat trade. In the early 1870’s, in an effort to compete with the railroad, boats owners turned their steamboats into ‘floating palaces’. Some of the finest boats were built in Cincinnati, including the Natchez captained by Thomas Leathers.
This photograph was published by the Detroit Publishing Company and was taken around 1906. Much of Cincinnati’s growth in the early 1800’s was due to its riverboats and the city’s location on the river. The Vesta, built in 1816, was the first steamboat to be built in Cincinnati at Fulton shipyards. The Zebulon Pike, also built in Cincinnati, was the first vessel designed exclusively for passenger service, the first official mail carrier and the first steamboat to travel to St. Louis. In 1820, the journey from Cincinnati to St. Louis lasted eight days and cost $25. By 1852 over 8,000 landings were recorded in Cincinnati, singling the peak of the steamboat trade. In the early 1870’s, in an effort to compete with the railroad, boats owners turned their steamboats into ‘floating palaces’. Some of the finest boats were built in Cincinnati, including the Natchez captained by Thomas Leathers.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-det-4a13300
This photograph shows a riverboat passing under one of Cincinnati’s suspension bridges.
Student Questions:
- What bridge is shown in the picture? How do you know?
- What changes have occurred to the riverfront since the picture was taken?
- Why were riverboats so important to cities like Cincinnati?