Tag: Steamboats

Looking Back: The Goldenrod and the Age of River Showboats

Before the flickering screens of cinemas and the glow of televisions, entertainment often arrived on the currents of the Mississippi. Showboats, those remarkable floating theaters, brought live performance and a touch of wonder to countless river communities. The Goldenrod, the last of her kind, offers a captivating glimpse into this lost world, a testament to the ingenuity and spirit of a time when the river was a highway for both commerce and culture, and dreams sailed on wooden decks.

Explosions, Fire, Drownings: History of River Steamboat Races

The 19th-century river was a battlefield. Not of armies, but of iron and steam. Steamboats, titans of the waterways, clashed in a relentless pursuit of speed, pushing their engines to the brink and their crews to the edge of survival. Explosions shattered the air, flames engulfed wooden hulls, and collisions sent passengers screaming into the turbulent waters. This is the forgotten history of river steamboat racing – a thrilling, terrifying spectacle where the pursuit of victory often came at a devastating cost.