[Abby Brown] Did you know that Iowa is the only state with four border rivers?
Pretty cool, right? They are the Mississippi River,
the Big Sioux River, the Des Moines River, and the Missouri River.
The Mississippi River is the biggest of Iowa's border waterways. And since it starts
way up in northern Minnesota and flows all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, people
figured out pretty early and pretty quickly that the Mississippi River was an awesome way
to transport people and goods, especially before trains and trucks and airplanes were around.
But relying on the flow of the river's current to transport people and goods from one place
to another could take boats a long time. Plus, going downstream with the current was easy.
Going upstream against the current could be impossible. Until the invention of the steamboat.
Steamboats can travel much faster and push through the river's currents. Plus, they were built to
navigate shallow areas in the river easier. As Iowa just entered statehood, steamboats traveled
the Mississippi River to bring people, food and equipment to our growing young communities.
So, Kirk, tell me, what years were steamboats the major mode
of transportation in Iowa?
[Kirk Brandenberger] Well, early on we talked about
the 1830s, ’20s, up to the ’50s and ’60s through the Civil War. And, you know, on up into around 1900.
[Abby] And what sort of cargo was being carried on those steamboats?
[Kirk] Well, a lot of people.
It was the interstate highway of the day.
[Abby] Oh, interesting!
[Kirk] A lot of people traveled by steamboat
and they came up the river systems. And so they would get to a certain state
wherever the river hit that state.
[Abby] Okay. And what was that boat ride like for them?
[Kirk] It was long.
[Abby] Yeah. Pretty slow moving.
[Kirk] Slow. And it was somewhat dangerous, you know.
They were steamboats and so and they were wooden,
they were made out of wood. So, you know, you had the embers coming out of the smokestacks,
going back to the back. Sometimes they'd land on the boat and it would cause a fire.
So it was somewhat of an adventure.
[Abby] And what about the water on the Mississippi?
What was that like for travelers?
[Kirk] Most places the river was much narrower
up here at the time. There was a rapids between Keokuk and Montrose, 10 miles.
And so the big boats couldn't get through the rapids. They had to stop in Keokuk,
pack up their goods ten miles around to put it on a boat going north. Or the northern boats
had to do the opposite, put it on a boat, going south. And so the travel was somewhat limited.
[Abby] So why did we eventually stop using steamboats?
[Kirk] Well, cars came along. Around the turn of the century,
cars started to become a mode of transportation. And because of that, roads were built. People were
able to travel within the states.
[Abby] Sure, they weren't just limited to the river.
[Kirk] Not so much on the boundaries. And so that started it.
[Abby] Are there still steamboats on the Mississippi River?
[Kirk] For recreational purposes only.
There are some steamboats that are used for dinner cruises in the big cities.
But for the most part, the steamboats are gone.
[Abby] Next time you see the mighty Mississippi River,
imagine what a steamboat would have looked like chugging along way back then.
Thanks for having fun investigating new discoveries in Iowa.
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