From the Center of America: Steamboats and Shipyards Along the Lower Ohio River - Couverture souple

Swenson, Robert H.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0809339838 ISBN 13 : 9780809339839

Editeur : Southern Illinois University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Charting the legacy of mid-America's shipyards and iconic steamboats

Before the railroad stitched together the American landscape, the dominant mode of transportation in the United States was by steamboat. These grand vessels, their iconic paddlewheels churning the country's rivers, have long captured the national imagination as symbols of innovation and adventure.

In the heart of America, four major rivers converge—the Cumberland and Tennessee with the Ohio; then the Ohio with the Mississippi. These three confluences, which author Robert Swenson christens the Four Rivers Reach, played a unique role in the development of the steamboats that dominated American continental transport for almost 100 years. Between 1825 and 1936, the river towns of Smithland, Paducah, Metropolis, Mound City, and Cairo launched 295 wood-hulled, steam-powered vessels. Drawing from a wealth of archival sources, Swenson presents detailed histories of these steamboats over a span of 110 years, accompanied by nearly one hundred illustrations and photographs.

The book focuses on distinct events in steamboat history, tracing the impact of these shipyards on the economies and communities of the river towns where they were built. It reveals how the availability of steamboats along this sixty-mile Reach affected migration, politics, and the US economy of the nineteenth century. Steamboats built at the Four Rivers Reach played pivotal roles in the forced relocation of Native Americans from southern Appalachia to Oklahoma, the outcome of the Civil War, and the Montana gold rush. From the Center of America demonstrates how steamboat building shaped the culture, people, and economy of this region—and how, in turn, the area and its steamships influenced the growth of the young United States.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Robert H. Swenson is a historic preservation consultant, a retired architect, and an associate professor emeritus of architecture at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His Preservation Summer course was the recipient of a Richard H. Dreihaus Preservation Award from Landmarks Illinois, and he has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Southern Illinois University Press
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0809339838
• ISBN 13: 9780809339839
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 248
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: Mare Nostrum Group B.V.; gpsr@mare-nostrum.co.uk; ; Doelen 72; Breda; 4831 GR; Pays-Bas