020 Steamboat Travel in the ADK

Steamboats played an important role in the history of the Adirondacks.

Transcript

Steamboat Travel in the ADK

 

Thank you for joining me for another episode of ADKX-tra Credit. The topic is steamboats. What are they? Why were they popular in the Adirondacks? And where did they go?

Yes, I’m talking about transportation again. Getting here and then getting home again was a big deal. Steamboats played an important part in the growth of the Adirondacks as a tourist destination.

TRANSITION - ADKX Podcast Intro - Ready to earn some extra credit? You are listening to ADKX-tra Credit, a podcast for students about the history of the Adirondack Mountains and the people that have lived, worked, and played here. The Adirondack Experience, the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, is located in the heart of the Adirondack Park of New York State. 

The word steamboat is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a boat powered by a steam engine. The steam is made in a boiler that heats water to make steam.  The steam pushes on the engine parts to make them move. I’m talking about boats built and used in the 1800s. So, the fuel for the fire would have been coal or wood.

Steam engines have been around a long time. The technology was invented in 1698. But, they weren’t used in boats until the 1840s. 

Those early steamboats were filthy dirty and dangerous. Steam engines can blow up if they overheat. Also, consider the danger of having a fire onboard a wooden boat.

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Steamboats of the 1800s were long, wooden boats built to carry people and their baggage. Some were used to carry goods and supplies, like food or even logs. Most are one story with a flat roof. But, there were some that had an upper deck. That flat roof was really handy here in the Adirondacks for carrying guideboats and canoes.

Still having trouble picturing what one looks like? If you have ever been to Disney World or Disneyland and seen the boat for the Jungle Cruise ride, then you have seen what an old-fashioned steamboat looks like. While I’m recording this, the Jungle Cruise movie isn’t out yet. So, I don’t know if the boat in that is a steamboat. Another good example is the boat in the old, old movie The African Queen. She was a steamboat. 

We have one on display here at the Adirondack Experience. The Osprey is located on the Marion River Carry Pavilion right next to the Porter Engine. (That would be “The Rickety-Rackety Railroad” to those of you that have listened to past episodes.) That’s a great spot for her because steam locomotives and steamboats worked together to bring tourists to the Adirondacks. 

Remember that during the time period I’m talking about there were very few roads in this area. Fast, efficient transportation was needed to get vacationers to the hotels and resorts. Trains and steamboats were the answer. Vacationers would take a train and a stagecoach to the steamboat landing. Then they would take the steamboat right to their hotel. Tourists and owners of hotels and resorts loved the steamboats. Finally, an easy way to get into the Adirondacks to your hotel and start enjoying all the outdoor adventures. 

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Not everyone was as happy with steamboats as the tourists and hoteliers. Many Adirondack guides felt that steamboats were ruining their business.

You see, before steamboats, when a tourist got off the stagecoach they would quickly hire a guide. The guide would take them to their hotel in a guideboat or other small boat. They would also hire guides to take them hunting and fishing. The increased ease of travel to the area meant that a wider variety of people could visit. It wasn’t just ‘sports’. People who were interested in other things besides hunting or fishing began vacationing here. The need for an Adirondack guide decreased.

The other set of people not too happy with the steamboat business were the growing number of ecology conscious visitors. To accommodate these large boats some of the shallow lakes and rivers were dammed or dredged. 

Damming would raise the water level of a lake. But that higher water would destroy a lot of vegetation and trees. Even in the 1800s it was obvious that creating what was called ‘drowned land” wasn’t healthy for the ecosystems.

Dredging is the removal of sediment, plants and other material from the bottom of a body of water. Making it deeper. Good for steamboats, not so good for plants and bugs and fish that need that environment. It doesn’t sound as bad as damming. However, it wrecks the habitat of some of the marine organisms. 

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The heyday of steamboats ended around the early 1930s. The most significant factor that led to the end of steamboat travel was the automobile. Roads that an auto could use were being constructed into even the most remote areas of the Adirondacks. More and more average citizens were purchasing cars and using them for vacation travel. Stagecoaches, trains, and steamboats became a thing of the past.

I hope you will visit the Adirondack Experience in Blue Mt. Lake and see our steamboat. Imagine yourself chugging across a beautiful lake on your way to an old-fashioned Adirondack vacation.

TRANSITION - ADKX Podcast conclusion - Thank you for joining us for an episode of ADKX-tra Credit. This podcast is brought to you by Adirondack Experience, the museum on Blue Mountain Lake. Our mission is to expand understanding of Adirondack history and the relationship between people and the Adirondack wilderness, fostering informed choices for the future. If you want to learn more fun Adirondack history visit our website theadkx.org