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Steamboat Era Stories      

This is a collection of short stories told by local residents who lived during the era when steamboats plied the Chesapeake Bay and her tributaries. We have edited their stories to include old photographs, paintings, and modern-day video footage.
In doing so, we have been able to further authenticate these stories with information that supports the storytellers' accounts.

The interviews have been collected through the efforts of Bruce King and Dianne Jordan, Former Executive Directors of the Steamboat Era Museum; Talking Across the Lines; and Mattingly Productions, Ltd.

Below is a list of the story titles. Click on a title to view a short description of the story. Then click on View Story button to view the story. The stories are best viewed with broadband connection.

By clicking on SOL and Activity Information you can obtain specific information of how the story relates to the Virginia SOLs (Standards of Learning) as well as obtaining guidelines and forms for 2nd and 4th grade classroom follow-up activities. Over the up coming months activities for all grades K through 12 will be added. For those not using the SOLs we have provided a Steamboat Era Story Quiz that can be taken after viewing all of the stories.

Steamboat Era Story Quiz

List of Titles

The Steamboat Is Coming - 2 minutes

Activity on the Wharf - 5 minutes

Dockside Adventures - 4 minutes

Steamboat Traveler - 3 minutes

Accommodations and Services - 4 minutes

The Captain and the Crew - 4 minutes

The Floating Theater - 6 minutes

End of an Era - 2 minutes