Cincinnati Public Landing

This 9.45 x 7.3-inch (24 x 18.54 cm) photograph shows the Public Landing at Cincinnati. The steamboats lined up from left to right are the Thompson Dean, the Potomac, the St. James, and the Bostona. The building above the Bostona with the cupola on top is the Cincinnati Union Bethel. This organization was originally founded to give aid to rivermen. As steamboats replaced flatboats and keelboats as the major mode of river transportation, travel along the Ohio River became faster and easier. By the middle of the nineteenth century, more than 3,000 steamboats arrived each year at the port of Cincinnati. The city’s prominent location along the river contributed to its rapid growth, and by 1850 Cincinnati became the sixth largest city in the country. The development of railroads slowly led to the decline of steamboats. They continued to operate on the Ohio River, but their numbers dwindled. This photograph is only a sample of the approximately 8,000 images collected by Captain Frederick Way, Jr. of scenes along the Ohio and Mississippi River system.