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 stories can be viewed on-line s streaming videos using either
a broadband or dial up connection. To view the on-line streaming
videos click on streaming.
Introduction to the Steamboat
- 3 minutes
People today may not know what a steamboat was or how the engine
that propelled it worked. This short animated segment describes
how a steamboat engine operates, and how steam-driven watercraft
revolutionized the transportation industry.
The Steamboat Is Coming -
2 minutes
Folks knew a steamboat was coming when they would hear that loud,
distinctive whistle. What did a steamboat's arrival mean to locals
living in rural towns and villages? To some it meant the excitement
of watching the boat dock, to others it meant meeting a shipment
that was expected. Still others knew it meant that it was time
to load goods for shipment to Baltimore. For everyone, the arrival
of the steamboat was an exciting event.
Activity on the Wharf -
5 minutes
Once a steamboat docked the wharf was a swarm of activity, because
all freight was loaded and unloaded by hand. Stevedores who handled
the freight were experts in moving cargo quickly and, in the process,
they provided some entertainment for the crowd that gathered to
watch the transfer of goods.
Dockside Adventures
- 4 minutes
The arrival of the steamboat meant an opportunity for young boys
to "sneak" aboard to explore the boat from bow to stern,
to enjoy the sights and the smells of these floating "palaces",
and to be briefly experience the excitement of steamboating.
Steamboat Traveler -
3 minutes
Sometimes just getting to the steamboat dock required a lengthy
journey by land. Once a traveler boarded the boat, the trip might
also include dining, dancing, and an overnight stay in one of
the many suites.
Accommodations and Services - 4 minutes
Steamboat travelers talk about the amenities offered on the steamboat.
How was the dining room decorated? What were the meals like and
how much did they cost? What were the sleeping accommodations?
The Captain and the Crew
- 4 minutes
Learn more about the people who operated the steamboat as this
segment takes you up to the pilothouse, down into the boiler room,
and places in between.
The Floating Theatre
- 6 minutes
During the Steamboat Era floating theatres - barges pulled by
steam vessels - roamed U.S. waterways. First-hand accounts talk
about just such a boat, The James Adams Floating Theatre, and
what its arrival meant to rural youngsters starved for entertainment.
Edna Ferber based her novel, Showboat, on this particular floating
theatre.
End of
an Era - 2 minutes
Unfortunately all good things come to an end and the Steamboat
Era was no exception. This segment discloses the reasons why the
steamboats disappeared from the Chesapeake Bay.
This series of Civil War-related stories are 2nd and 3rd generation oral history accounts, as people retell stories passed down by parents and grandparents. The Chesapeake Bay region - particularly the area from the Potomac to the James Rivers -saw a lot of activity, although these events were often unrecorded or frequently eclipsed by larger encounters and engagements. What is so interesting is that these local stories can be considered "untold stories of the Civil War" - tales about family homes, rural communities, and places we pass by everyday as we go about our busy lives.
A Close
Call - 3 minutes
Union gunboats regularly patrolled the rivers throughout the Bay,
and the Rappahannock was no exception. This oral history tells
of an encounter that occurred at a beautiful Italianate Victorian
waterfront home, Camden, just south of Port Royal.
Cannon Hill - 2 minutes
Most of us in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula often travel
Route 17. Just south of the intersection of Routes 17 and 301
is a high hill, known as Pratt's Bluff or Cannon Hill that allows
a glimpse of the Rappahannock River to the west. During the early
days of the war, the Confederates used this vantage point to place
a cannon to fire at Union gunboats and keep them away from Fredericksburg.
This oral history provides some very interesting information about
the cannon, its location, and its effectiveness.
A Good Deed - 2 minutes
There are many tales about the thoughtless and reckless actions
of both Union and Confederate troops against the civilian population.
However, this story of an incident in the little town of Port
Royal, Virginia contradicts some of the notions.