In 1817 the Zebulon M. Pike reached St. Louis, the northern-most steamboat port on the Mississippi River. The western steamboat of later years was a credit to the frontier American mechanic who drew upon experience to build a large craft (eventually over 300 by 40 feet) which would carry heavy cargoes in shallow water against the strong Mississippi current. Owners boasted that steamboats could run on heavy dew but in fact seasonal variations in river depth limited their use – medium sized steamboats needed at least four feet of water. The influence of the steamboat spread far and wide in the Mississippi Valley and hastened the development of the region.
Snags, explosions, collisions and fires sank many steamboats. An 1867 investigation recorded 133 sunken hulks in the Mississippi between Cairo and St. Louis, a stretch rivermen called the ‘Graveyard.’
Even as the north-south river trade flourished in the 1850’s, transportation lines running east and west developed. Railroads which followed a more direct route than winding rivers began to haul freight to and from the Mississippi Valley. Steamboats aided the north in the Civil War, but the reorientation of civilian commerce foreshadowed their decline. Although they continued to churn the Mississippi for the best of the nineteenth century, they were eventually replaced by strings of barges guided by a single steamboat or later by a diesel boat which transported the cargoes individual steamboats had once carried.
Thebes Courthouse, Oak Street, Thebes, IL, USA
Distance: 0.46 mi (straight line)
Red House Interpretive Center, Aquamsi Street, Cape Girardeau, MO, USA
Distance: 6.09 mi (straight line)
Museums and Interpretive Centers Guided Tours
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11 S Spanish St, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703, USA
Distance: 6.25 mi (straight line)
Food and Drinks Breweries and Distilleries
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Mississippi River Tales Mural, North Water Street, Cape Girardeau, MO, USA
Distance: 6.30 mi (straight line)
1027 Broadway Street, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, USA
Distance: 6.90 mi (straight line)
1865 Broadway Street, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, USA
Distance: 7.55 mi (straight line)
18615 East Side Dr, Olive Branch, IL 62969, USA
Distance: 11.00 mi (straight line)
Trail of Tears State Park, Moccasin Springs Road, Jackson, MO, USA
Distance: 14.74 mi (straight line)
Tribal Experiences Outdoor Experiences Walks and Hikes Museums and Interpretive Centers RV and Camping LC Features
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Beggs Family Farm, State Highway U, Sikeston, MO, USA
Distance: 15.63 mi (straight line)
113 West Main Street suite 2, Jackson, MO, USA
Distance: 15.74 mi (straight line)
2055 State Hwy Y, Jackson, MO 63755, USA
Distance: 16.11 mi (straight line)
Breweries and Distilleries Galleries and Venues Wineries
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5512 U.S. 61, Jackson, MO 63755, USA
Distance: 17.65 mi (straight line)
Mound City National Cemetery, Illinois 37, Mound City, IL, USA
Distance: 18.26 mi (straight line)
500 Public Square, Jonesboro, IL 62952, USA
Distance: 18.77 mi (straight line)
521 N Main St, Jonesboro, IL 62952, USA
Distance: 19.22 mi (straight line)
1903 Sycamore St, Cairo, IL 62914, USA
Distance: 20.71 mi (straight line)
2723 Washington Ave, Cairo, IL 62914, USA
Distance: 21.39 mi (straight line)
Museums and Interpretive Centers Other Guided Tours
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Cairo Custom House Museum, Washington Avenue, Cairo, IL, USA
Distance: 22.13 mi (straight line)
LC Features Museums and Interpretive Centers
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