River Commerce in Kansas

When the first actual white settlers came to Kansas, there were no railroads west of the Mississippi River, and the various water courses were depended upon to furnish the means of transportation. As early as 1819 four steamboats -- the Thomas Jefferson, Expedition, R.M. Johnson and Western Engineer -- were built for the navigation of the upper Missouri River, and were used in the first Yellowstone expedition. Prior to that time the only water craft on the western streams were the Indian canoes or the keel boats and flat-bottomed boats of the fur traders. In 1830 a steamboat called the Car of Commerce was built for the Missouri River trade, but sank near the mouth of the river two years later.

The Yellowstone ascended the river in 1831, and between that time and 1840 the Assiniboine and the Astoria made regular trips. About the time Kansas was organized as a territory, the best known steamers on the Missouri River were the A.C. Goddin, the A.B. Chambers and the Kate Swinney.

Keelboat by Jedediah Hotchkiss, 1872

In 1858, the Otis Webb, the Minnie Belle and th Kansas River, but in 1859 came the Silver Lake, Morning Star, Gus Linn, Adelia, Colona, Star of the West and the Kansas Valley. In 1860 the Eureka, Izetta and Mansfield were added to the list. Then came the Civil War and but little was done in the way of river commerce until peace was restored to the country. The Tom Morgan and the Emma began the navigation of the Kansas River in 1864; the Hiram Wood, Jacob Sass and E. Hensley were put in commission in 1865, and in 1866 the Alexander Majors was added.

The early navigation of the Kansas River was attended by many difficulties. Wood was used for fuel, and it was no unusual occurrence for a boat to tie up while the crew went ashore to fell trees and lay in a supply of wood. On one occasion the Financier No. 2 ascended the Republican River for a distance of 40 miles by way of experiment. This was the farthest that river has ever been navigated. A correspondent of the St. Louis Democrat, on November 18, 1855, said: "The bed of the Kansas River, like that of the Missouri, is quicksand, ever changing and ever dangerous while the water will not average over two feet in depth at any place for a distance of 500 feet along its banks. If the bottom was rock and the banks precipitous, a line of steamers would pay well; but as it is, no sensible capitalist will invest his money in a single boat. Kansas is destined by nature to be the Railroad state."

When the counties of Cowley, Sedgwick and Sumner were settled about 1870, the question of steamboat navigation on the Arkansas River became one of interest to the settlers, who were desirous of finding an outlet to market. In the fall of 1875 A.W. Berkey and A.C. Winton of Cowley County built a flat-boat at Arkansas City and loaded it with flour, which they took down the river and sold at Little Rock, Arkansas. Upon their return, a stock company was formed for the purchase of a steamboat. A light draft boat was bought and it ascended the river nearly to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, when the engines were found to be of insufficient power to stem the current. In the summer of 1878 W.H. Speer and Amos Walton built a flat-boat 50 feet long and 16 feet wide, equipped it with a 10 horse-power thresher engine, and with this novel craft made several trips up and down the river for a distance of 60 miles from Arkansas City while the water was at a low stage.

Through correspondence, the business men of Little Rock were induced to send a boat on a trial trip to Kansas. The boat selected was the Aunt Sally, which had been built for the bayou cotton trade of Arkansas. She arrived at Arkansas City on June 30, 1878, and the officers of the boat expressed the opinion that a boat built especially for the purpose could make regular trips up and down the river at all seasons of the year. Thus encouraged, McCloskey Seymore had the Cherokee built at Arkansas City. This boat was launched on November 6, 1878; was 85 feet long, 22 feet wide; and had a draught when loaded to the guards of only 16 inches. Other steamers that were built for the Arkansas River trade were the General Miles, the Necedah and the Nonesuch. But, before the commerce of the Arkansas River was fully established, the railroad came, and the certainty of railroad traffic, when compared with the difficulties attending that of the river, made the operation of the steamboats unprofitable. However, as late as 1884 a steamboat called the Kansas Millers was built for the trade. This was the last attempt at steam navigation of the Arkansas River, though some flatboats and barges continued to transport wheat and flour down the river until the railroad lines were more fully developed.

Compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of Kansas, updated April, 2010.

Also See:

History Along the Arkansas River

Kansas River - Explorations Beyond Missouri

Kansas Rivers

About the Article: The majority of this historic text was published in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume I; edited by Frank W. Blackmar,  A.M. Ph. D.; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912. However, the text that appears on these page is not verbatim, as additions, updates, and editing have occurred.

The Great West, by Gaylord Wilson, 1881. 

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