The Robert E. Lee was constructed in 1866. The ship could carry a cargo of 5741 bales of cotton. In 1870 there was a famous competition between the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez as to which ship was the fastest. It was the Robert E. Lee which came out victorious by covering the distance between St. Louis and New Orleans (750 miles) in 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes.

Paddlewheel steamboats ruled American rivers for over one hundred years from 1812 to the opening decade of this century. The steamboats carried settlers to a new life west of the Alleghenies, delivered farm and raw materials to market and consumer goods to river towns in need. From the age of the man-powered canoes of this nation's native Indians to today's diesel-powered tug boats, the American river system has always pulsed with activity, and the riverboat age was undoubtedly the most colorful.

The emergence of the steamboat in the 1800s revolutionized river travel-changing the flow of the one-way, down-stream travel into a two-way highway. The steamboat's speed, grace and amazing ability to oppose the river's current opened one of history's most exciting and productive chapters.

America's Midwest and South were opened up for settlement and development thanks to the ease and speed of riverboat transportation as opposed to flatboat, wagon or foot travel. Riverboat travel was eventually replaced by the faster railroad, which was introduced in the early 1900s, but during the century-long steamboating age, stacks, steam and riverboat splendor painted a colorful picture of American life in emerging towns and cities.

During the peak years of steamboating, the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers carried more than 11,000 paddle wheelers. In the early 1860s, passengers paid $1.50-$2.00 for a one-way trip. For this fare, a bargain by today's standards, the passenger was provided with transportation, meals and lodging on an impressive boat with excellent accommodations.

The Port of Cincinnati was a principal center of Ohio River steamboat operations in the 1850s. Boats brought imports into the Queen City with a value of almost $65 million per year. Steamboat arrivals and departures in Cincinnati averaged more than 20 per day.

The steamboat era has touched the lives of all Americans in such interesting ways such as contributing to common vocabulary. Many current phrases come from the steamboating era such as letting off steam and fiddlin' around.

The huge paddlewheels were driven by steam. Since pressure inside the steam boiler rose to extreme levels at times it was relieved through a check valve. Relieving that pressure was naturally called letting off steam and it came to describe the human emotion of ridding tension. Some people carried fiddles with them, playing along the riverbanks and wharfs for pennies. During this period in time if you didn't work, you were said to be fiddlin' around.