Louisville's Steamboat Era
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Louisville's Steamboat Era. River navigation in 18th century was by flatboat and keelboat. First steamboat, NEW ORLEANS, arrived in Louisville in autumn of 1811. City soon became steamboat center with six lines operating here. Hundreds of these boats were built in area. Wharf teemed with traffic through Civil War. Eight U.S. presidents arrived on this wharf or "levee." (Reverse) Visitors at Louisville Wharf James Monroe - June 1819 Andrew Jackson - June 1819 Alexis de Tocqueville - Dec. 1831 Washington Irving - Sept. 1832 Abraham Lincoln - Sept. 1841 Charles Dickens - Apr. 1842 Walt Whitman - Feb. 1848 Ralph Waldo Emerson - June 1850 Oliver W. Holmes - Sept. 1855 Herman Melville - Jan.1858
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
When the steamboat New Orleans reached Louisville in the autumn of 1811, it opened a new age on the western rivers, and the city — perched at the Falls of the Ohio — quickly became a steamboat hub with six lines and hundreds of boats built nearby. Its wharf teemed with traffic through the Civil War and welcomed a remarkable procession of Americans, including eight presidents and writers from Washington Irving and Charles Dickens to Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Herman Melville.
Why it matters
Steamboats transformed the Ohio and Mississippi valleys into the commercial spine of a growing nation, and Louisville's busy levee was one of the great gateways of that river-borne America.
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Related people
- · James Monroe
- · Andrew Jackson
- · Alexis de Tocqueville
- · Abraham Lincoln
- · Charles Dickens
- · Walt Whitman
- · Ralph Waldo Emerson
- · Herman Melville
Related events
- · Arrival of the steamboat New Orleans
Themes & tags
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