Minn of Mississippi:How boats changed the river

We loved looking into the history of boats along the Mississippi. Obviously it was a lot easier to travel down the river, but going back up took plenty of man power until the 1800's when steamboats changed the course of travel along the Mississippi. Here are some pictures of the some of the boats used throughout history.

First was the two-log raft (which I couldn't find a picture of).
Thencame the Bull-boat



Next came the dugout

And then the Pirogue

Next the flatboats

The Keelboats made famous by the stories of Louis and Clark


And then the era of steam. This is just one of the many kinds used for the next century...




An interesting note: During the time of the keelboats, men actually pulled by sheer man power by poling, physically towing or rowing the boats back up the river.