Hello Wavestar--I just had lunch with a local historian here in Bardstown, and she says Robert Fitch invented the steamboat about 20 years before Fulton did. If you're interested she has documentation. Seems that Fitch just couldn't get financial backing and was indeed ahead of his time. There are newspaper articles and pictures of his boat in 1789(I think) chugging up the Ohio River at 8mph, faster than any of Fulton's. She had a lot of info, including why the steamboat was important for travel on western rivers such as the Mississippi and Missouri (something about tides), just wish I could remember it all. Here's a link about Fitch that I found using one of Dale's sites. John Fitch info ...my apologies if the link doesn't work--it's very, very long.

And Art, thanks for the info. I've only been on one cruise, but would love to try it again.

Mary