May
Full Steam Ahead: Steam revolutionized upstream travel locally and worldwide
Last month we discussed the era of steamboats and the
impact they had on transportation, especially the Fall River
Line linking Southeastern Massachusetts to New York City. The
significance of steamboats becomes apparent when you
consider the options before their emergence.
Water transportation on the open water of oceans was
powered by wind and oars. However, this was extremely
difficult on inland waterways with strong river currents. Canals
were built where barges, pulled by horses walking alongside, carried bulk cargo and passengers. In the
latter part of the 1700s, Great Britain developed an extensive canal system. However, during this period,
our fledging country’s major inland routes were rivers. Flatboats and keelboats were primary means for
transporting bulky and heavy cargo. Both depended on river currents to propel them down stream.
Upstream travel was another matter.
Flatboats were flat-bottom boats whose ends were shaped at right angles, guided by crews with long
poles. They essentially were one-way boats because of the difficulty of returning to the point of origination
against a river current. Instead, they were dismantled and sold for lumber.
Keelboats were somewhat shaped like a cigar with a keel. They transported cargo over rivers, shallow
lakes and canals. Between four and 12 crewmen would row, using oars or poles. After delivering their
cargo, the crew would row the keelboat back to the originating location for another shipment. The return
trip was arduous if they were traveling against the current. Some return trips would take months. Crews
from flatboats often were passengers.
During the second half of the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution evolved, which included the emergence of
steam as a power source. The efforts of French and English inventors led to the development of steam
powered engines which could propel boats, demonstrating the practicality of steamboats. The first boat
powered by steam was built in France in 1783.
The first successful test in America was of a 45-foot steamboat conducted in 1787 by John Fitch on the
Delaware River. Although Fitch was an inventor with vision, he led a troubled life. His mother died when
he was four. His education ended when his stern father made him work on the farm at the age of eight.
He eventually left to try his hand as a silversmith, but that didn’t last. He married when he was 33, but the
marriage ended because of the wife’s constant nagging. For several years, he wandered through the Ohio
River Basin. Intrigued with the concept of steam power, he ended up in Pennsylvania to pursue an
ambition to develop steam engines.
Fitch was able to enlist financial support from private investors. After several attempts, he created a
working steamboat. Instead of paddle wheels we often see in pictures, Fitch’s boat was propelled by
canoe paddles such as those used by Indians. It operated as a passenger boat between Philadelphia and
Trenton, N.J., that summer, traveling approximately 3,000 miles during that period. This boat was the first
successful steamboat built by an American inventor. Although successful as a functioning steamboat, it
was a commercial failure and ceased operating at the end of summer.
Fitch built four different steamboats between 1785 and 1796 which traveled on rivers, demonstrating the
feasibility of using steam for water transportation. His models utilized paddles resembling oars of Indian
war canoes, paddle wheels, and screw propellers. Although his boats performed successfully, Fitch was
not adroit in the financial aspects of building and operating steamboats. Unable to acquire further
financial backing from private investors, he languished under the influence of alcohol and mostly became
forgotten.
An American, Robert Fulton, also was intrigued by the potential of the steamboat. While working in
France, he was helped by the Scottish engineer Henry Bel. He designed his own steamboat which sailed
along the River Seine in 1803.
Fulton and Robert Livingston built a steamboat and established a route between New York City and
Albany. The maiden voyage of the Clermont took place in 1807. The success of the venture encouraged
others to use steamboats on major American rivers.
By 1849, the shipping industry was in transition from sail powered to steam powered boats, with metal
boat construction replacing wood construction. Fulton (1765-1815) built his first boat after Fitch’s death,
yet it was Fulton who became known as the “father of steam navigation.”
Often overlooked is a local area inventor who built a steamboat 15 years before Fulton. Elijah Ormsbee,
a Providence native, also was intrigued with the idea of powering a boat by steam. An inventor who had
built a fire engine for which he was awarded the first patent issued by Rhode Island, Ormsbee discussed
steam power with David Wilkinson, the inventor of the slide lathe. In 1792, Wilkinson, employing
Ormsbee’s concept, built an engine which Ormsbee installed in a long boat he named The Experiment.
After trial runs in Winsor’s Cove, a few miles south of Providence in Narragansett Bay, Ormsbee traveled
up the Providence River at a speed of three miles an hour powered by duck foot paddles. After spending
the night in Providence, he journeyed up the Seekonk River to Pawtucket.
The Experiment was a success, with Ormsbee later cruising around Narragansett Bay. He then built a
steamboat with paddle wheels which was stolen and never recovered. As with the case of Fitch, Ormsbee
was unable to obtain financing to continue his pursuit of steam power.
The steamboat era brought the Fall River Line to us with its luxurious boats plying the waters from here
to New York.
The Marine Museum has a trove of artifacts recalling those heady days when the rich and famous passed
through. Visit us at 70 Water St. in Battleship Cove for a sense of what it was like traveling on the Fall River
Line. For more information, call 508-674-3533.
Phil Hudner retired from Bank of America and lives in Westport, where he was a member of the Planning
Board. He currently serves as a trustee of the Marine Museum.
PHOTO/ PROJECT GUTENBERG
The Clermont was the first steamboat to travel the Hudson River between New York and Albany, N.Y., in
1807.