A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS ; however, these designations are most often used for steamships.
The PSComet was built in 1812 for Henry Bell, hotel and baths owner in Helensburgh, and began a passenger service on 15 August 1812 on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock that was the world's first commercially successful steamboat service.
The 74-mile-long (119 km) Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is derived from ak-lowahe, Creek for "muddy".
The steamboat Ticonderoga is one of two remaining side-paddle-wheel passenger steamers with a vertical beam engine of the type that provided freight and passenger service on America's bays, lakes and rivers from the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Commissioned by the Champlain Transportation Company, Ticonderoga was built in 1906 at the Shelburne Shipyard in Shelburne, Vermont on Lake Champlain.
The North River Steamboat or North River, colloquially known as the Clermont, is widely regarded as the world's first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial water transportation. Built in 1807, the North River Steamboat operated on the Hudson River – at that time often known as the North River – between New York City and Albany, New York. She was built by the wealthy investor and politician Robert Livingston and inventor and entrepreneur Robert Fulton (1765–1815).
Bonnington was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia from 1911 to 1931. Bonnington and two sisterships were the largest sternwheelers ever built in British Columbia. Bonnington was partially dismantled in the 1950s, and later sank, making the vessel the largest freshwater wreck site in British Columbia.
The T.J. Potter was a paddle steamer that operated in the Northwestern United States. The boat was launched in 1888. Her upper cabins came from the steamboat Wide West. This required some modification, because the T.J. Potter was a side-wheeler, whereas the Wide West had been a stern-wheeler. The boat's first owner was the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. The T. J. Potter was one of the few side-wheeler boats that operated on the Columbia River.
The steamboat George E. Starr operated in late 19th century as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet and also operated out of Victoria, B.C. Geo. E. Starr also served for a time in California and on the Columbia River.
The Rossland was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia. It was named after Rossland, British Columbia, once a prosperous mining town in the region.
Hubbard L. Hart was an American entrepreneur who ran the most prominent steamboat line in Florida. He augmented his business with hotels, orange groves and lumber mills, and is noted for helping the state develop as a tourist destination.
Gordon C. Greene was a paddle steamer, launched in 1923, that operated under several names before sinking in St. Louis in 1967.
The Okeehumkee, also known as "Queen of the Ocklawaha River," was a river steamboat that provided transportation along Florida rivers in the late 19th century. The Okeehumkee was equipped with a paddle wheel positioned in the lower stern part of the boat which allowed it to traverse narrow and shallow rivers. The steamboat was the longest-serving craft of its type on the Ocklawaha River route, remaining in service for 43 years.
Far West was a shallow draft sternwheel steamboat plying the upper Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers in the Dakota and Montana Territories, in the years from 1870 to 1883. By being involved in historic events in the Indian Wars of the western frontier, the Far West became an iconic symbol of the shallow draft steamboat plying the upper Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers in the era before railroads dominated transport in these areas.
Winema was the largest steamboat ever to operate on Upper Klamath Lake in the U.S. state of Oregon. The steamer ran from 1905 to 1919, when it was hauled out of the water permanently. Winema was sunk by a sudden squall in August 1907. The vessel was raised, rebuilt and returned to service. The steamer remained out of the water for a number of years in the 1920, until it caught fire in 1925 or 1927 and was destroyed.
Senator was a stern-wheel-driven steamboat which operated on the Willamette River in the state of Oregon from 1863 to 1875. Senator is chiefly remembered for its having been destroyed in a fatal boiler explosion in 1875 while making a landing at the Portland, Oregon waterfront in 1875.
Steam navigation on Lake Coeur d'Alene lasted from the 1880s to the 1930s. More steamboats operated on Lake Coeur d’Alene than on any other lake west of the Great Lakes. The high point of steam navigation was probably from 1908 to 1913. After that railroads, and increasingly automobile and truck traffic on newly built highways supplanted steam navigation, although some vessels continued to be operated until the mid-1930s.
Mascot was a sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1890 which operated primarily on a route running from Portland, Oregon down the Willamette and Columbia rivers to points on the Lewis and Lake rivers. Points served included the town of Woodland, Washington, on the main branch of the Lewis, and La Center, Washington on the east fork.
The PS Gem is a retired side-wheel paddle steamer that was first launched in 1876 on the Murray River at Moama, New South Wales. She operated as a cargo and passenger steamer, regularly cruising between Morgan and Mildura. The Gem operated as a tourist passenger vessel during the 1930s and 1940s, and was retired in the early 1950s. In 1962 the Gem was sold to the then Swan Hill Folk Museum, where it would become a static display and historic monument.
PS Keystone State was a wooden-hulled American paddle steamer in service between 1849 and 1861. She was built in 1848 in Buffalo, New York, by Bidwell & Banta for ship-owner Charles M. Reed of Erie, Pennsylvania, and operated as part of his "Chicago Line". A luxuriously furnished palace steamer, she operated between Buffalo and Chicago, Illinois, while also making stops at various other ports. She was built for the passenger and package freight trade, frequently carrying both wealthy passengers and European immigrants who desired to settle in the Midwestern United States. Due to the Panic of 1857, Keystone State and several other paddle steamers were laid up. When the American Civil War began in 1861; she was refurbished, and put back into service.
SS Manasoo was a steel-hulled Canadian passenger and package freighter in service between 1888 and 1928. She was built in 1888 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, by William Hamilton & Company for the Hamilton Steamboat Company of Hamilton, Ontario. During this time, she mainly carried passengers between Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario. Macassa was lengthened in Collingwood, Ontario, in 1905. She was sold twice before being sold to the Owen Sound Transportation Company, Ltd., and was rebuilt and renamed Manasoo; after the sale, she mainly operated between Sault Ste. Marie and Owen Sound, Ontario.
