From the earliest rudimentary conveyances to the floating palaces of the
present day, a period of 200 years, steamboats have carved out a very
special place in American history, especially along the Mississippi
River and its tributaries, where they brought passengers, cargo, mail,
entertainment, and news--both good and bad--to the settlements of a
still-developing nation. With paddle-wheels churning, tall smokestacks
billowing, calliopes singing, and steam whistles sounding, the
steamboats of the Mighty Mississippi proudly ruled the river. Some
offered all the comforts of home (and more); others did the work for the
industries that transformed the United States into the industrial giant
it became. They carried presidents and kings, socialites and commoners,
cotton and coal, lumber and steel. They enabled some of our nation's
major cities to grow and flourish. Told through historic photographs in
these pages, the story of steamboats that plied the Mississippi and the
glorious era they symbolized is vividly captured and enshrined for
generations to come.