The steamboat era finally ended in the 20th century, largely due to the railroad. "Although steamboats ruled trade and travel in the 1800s and early 1900s, newer and cheaper forms of transportation eventually replaced them. Steamboats began experiencing competition from railroads as early as the 1830s. This competition increased in the years before the Civil War. By 1880 there were around 93,000 miles of tracks, and the trains took away much of the steamboats’ business" ("A History of Steamboats").
Revolution of Transportation
(Source: "Smith, Calvin J. 'New England, New-York and Canada.' Map")
"These early uses of railways gave little hint that a revolution in methods of transportation was underway. James Watt's improvements in the steam engine were adapted by John Fitch in 1787 to propel a ship on the Delaware River. . . Fitch, an American inventor and surveyor, had published his "Map of the Northwest" two years earlier to finance the building of a commercial steamboat. With Robert Fulton's Clermont and a boat built by John Stevens, the use of steam power for vessels became firmly established. Railroads and steam propulsion developed separately, and it was not until the one system adopted the technology of the other that railroads began to flourish" (Smith).
"As the railroad became the preferred mode of transport, steamboats became primarily used for transporting cotton bales but that business faded out as well. Eventually the Mississippi, once bustling with steamboat traffic, was home to just a few steaming up and down the river" (Woollard). "In the 20th century, with the invention of automobiles and airplanes, steamboats became obsolete. Most were retired and scrapped" ("A History of Steamboats").
However, steamboats nonetheless left a lasting legacy.
Types Of Ships – A Master List Of Vessel Types
Steamboat technology eventually led to oceangoing steamships. Then, instead of steam engines, ships began to use "reciprocating diesel engines to generate power for propulsion. Modern . . . ships use either gas turbine or diesel electric engines as their power source for propulsion" (Briggs). Many types of ships developed, including commercial, fishing, naval, and cruise ships (Konrad). Some steamboats are still used today, but only for recreation. "Nevertheless, they will always remain one of the most important advances in transportation technology" ("A History of Steamboats").
The American Queen - launched in 1995 as the largest steamboat ever