Mark Twain
wrote in
Life on the Mississippi:
"The steamboats were finer than anything on shore. Compared
with superior dwelling-houses and first-class hotels in the valley,
they were indubitably magnificent, they were 'palaces'."
To learn more about Mark Twain on the World Wide Web click
here.
The St. Louis and East St. Louis river landings became centrally
important to the growth of the United States and it was through
the use of steamboats that these cities developed into a crossroads
for the country. The Mississippi River and its tributaries reach
up from the Gulf of Mexico and spread across the heart of America.
Nineteenth century Americans traveled along this impressive series
of waterways, opening up the western frontier and solidifying
the ties of the Eastern seaboard to the Midwest.