"Tom Greene" sternwheeler photograph   Save
Ohio History Connection Archives/Library
Description: This photograph shows the "Tom Greene" sternwheeler on the Ohio River in southern Ohio. Steamboats revolutionized river travel during the first half of the nineteenth century. Although early Ohioans used the Ohio River to transport agricultural goods and manufactured products even prior to the invention of the steamboat, certainly their advent made travel easier. The steam engine meant that humans no longer had to power the boat themselves, and movement upstream became much easier. As a result of this new technology, river travel increased even more over time. Beginning in the 1850s, railroads provided competition for the Ohio River trade but never replaced it entirely. In the twentieth century, barges carrying coal and other materials replaced steamboats. Now steamboats are primarily a tourist attraction, carrying passengers on short trips along the river. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07964
Subjects: Steamboats; Ohio River; Entertainment; Summer
Places: Ohio