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Southeast Missouri had a key role in the road to Missouri statehood in 1817-1821. The events leading to statehood, and some of the events, people, and lifeways in the area may be unfamiliar to many modern-day Missourians. Currently, Missouri is celebrating its Bicentennial, and this program aims to summarize the events leading to statehood, some of the factors affecting Missouri’s entry into the Union, and how people lived and worked during that time 200 years ago.Every Friday morning at 6:42 and 8:42 a.m. and Saturday morning at 8:18 a.m., Bill Eddleman highlights the people, places, ways of life, and local events in Southeast Missouri in 1821.The theme music for the show ("The Missouri Waltz") is provided by Old-Time Missouri Fiddler Charlie Walden, host of the podcast "Possum’s Big Fiddle Show."

Missouri Bicentennial Minutes: The Rivers and Transportation on Them

(Wikipedia Commons, public domain)
Flatboat in the foreground, keelboats behind.

Welcome to the Missouri Bicentennial Minute from the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Most commercial transportation at statehood was on the major rivers by flatboat or keelboat. Use of flatboats began in the 1780s, offering a method for moving goods and passengers downstream. Most moved goods to markets in New Orleans. A flatboat was a flat-bottomed craft, sometimes with a shelter aft. Averaging about 20 feet long, they allowed navigation in often obstructed channels. Each cost roughly $75, a substantial investment, but could carry up to $3000 worth of goods. Crew steered using a steering oar or rudder, short front sweep, and long side sweeps. In New Orleans, the crew marketed the goods, the craft was usually broken up, and the lumber sold. The crew returned in a 2-3 month overland journey.

Many immigrants arrived on flatboats descending the Ohio River.  Minister Timothy Flint recalled that it was "no uncommon spectacle to see a large family, old and young, servants, cattle, hogs [on flatboats] ... bringing to recollection the cargo of the ancient ark."

Upstream and downstream travel was often by keelboat, a longer, narrower craft with a slight keel. Propulsion upstream was by oars or setting poles, sometimes assisted by a sail. Keelboats offered greater flexibility, although moving upstream was still slow.

River travel was revolutionized after 1817, when the first steamboat, the Zebulon M. Pike, ascended the Mississippi to St. Louis. The speed of steam boats compared to keelboats was a marvel. The 220-mile voyage of the Washington from St. Louis to Franklin, Howard County, took 6 days in 1821, opposed to 20-30 days by keelboat. The effect of steamboats was to begin concentration of economic activity to the large river towns.

Bill Eddleman was born in Cape Girardeau, and is an 8th-generation Cape Countian. His first Missouri ancestor came to the state in 1802. He attended SEMO for two years before transferring to the University of Missouri to study Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. He stayed at Mizzou to earn a master of science in Fisheries and Wildlife, and continued studies in Wildlife Ecology at Oklahoma State University.
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