Before the railroads, before the highways,. America's rivers were its
arteries of transportation. The Hudson River attracted some of
the earliest colonists up its beautiful valley to find a better life. The Ohio River was a highway for settlement of its fertile valley and the
lower Mississippi. Down the Mississippi went Joliet and Marquette, looking for the
Northwest Passage, but finding instead land claimed by Spain. Up the Missouri went Lewis and Clark on their "voyage of
discovery", perhaps the most thrilling tale of exploration of the American
West. Settlers who had survived the Oregon Trail found their promised
land along the mighty Columbia River and its
tributaries. These early river migrations and exploration were powered by oar,
paddle, keel, tow ropes, sails, and, of course the powerful current of the rivers.
Not satisfied with the navigable rivers that nature had provided, our
nation set about to build more waterways -- canals. Some of these were built to
facilitate navigation around hazardous waters, and some to run overland to connect major
watersheds. George Washington worked as a surveyor on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
before answering a higher calling. Most of these canals survive today only as
remnants, with the notable exception of the Erie Canal.
The mid-19th century saw the proliferation of steam powered
riverboats. These vessels were able to navigate upstream and downstream with
relative ease, and a new era of river transportation began in earnest. The river
steamboats were raucous, colorful, dangerous, outrageous, and sometimes totally
ridiculous. The age of the steamboat is certainly one of the most glamorized period
of American history. Along with the steamboat came the need to "improve"
the rivers to provide for easier and more dependable transportation. Systems of
locks and dams were built to ensure adequate water for year round navigation and to
provide safe passage around falls and rapids. The larger rivers were confined to a
desired channel by means of dikes and revetments. Special boats dredged silt and
sand from the bottoms of rivers to ensure safe passage of vessels.
But the age of the steamboat was short-lived, as the railroads came along.
Within a few years they had rendered steamboat transportation practically obsolete.
For many years, most American rivers were again the province of their natural inhabitants
and few others.
Technology again began to influence the use of rivers in the 20th
century. Diesel-powered tow boats were developed, and these could push large groups
of barges to transport bulky materials more economically than trains or trucks.
During the Great Depression, the government undertook a massive improvement of the upper
Mississippi River, erecting the large dams and locks that we have today.
By the middle of the 20th century, the fervor for river transportation was
again running high. Boosters and hucksters throughout the nation touted their river
as an addition to the nation's water transportation system. During this period,
numerous rivers were developed for barge transportation. The last of these projects,
the Tennessee-Tombigbee Canal, was completed in 1984. By that time it was becoming
evident that these attempts to usher in a new era of river transportation had been in fact
a series of pork barrel projects that could not really justify their existence
economically. While some of the rivers have considerable barge traffic, notably the
lower Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and parts of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, many of the
smaller projects only occasionally see commercial traffic.
For the recreational user, this is a mixed blessing. On the one
hand, we are deprived of the pleasure of seeing these rivers in their natural state, with
the vagaries of seasonal flow, shoals, and obstacles. On the other hand we are
provided with dependable channel depth, easy passage over the difficult spots and modern
navigation aids and charts. The agencies that administer these waterways (usually
the US Army Corps of Engineers) now recognizes and welcomes recreational users, and they
must also give consideration to environmental impact of their actions.
Now we, recreational boaters of the 21st century, are a part of the
continuing history of America's waterways. We hope our descriptions of these rivers
and canals will be helpful to you in planning your adventures, whether real or virtual, on
America's beautiful waterways.
