The above description will give you an idea of the first passenger boat of any note built for traffic in Iowa, and was no doubt at that time, one of the best equipped steamers for passenger and freight traffic owned exclusively by Iowa men and operated upon Iowa rivers.
On this steamer, which made its first trip in 1858, was W. B. Mack, a person well known to Cedar Rapids people, and who for half a century, up to the time of his death a few years ago, had been one of the most active business men of our city, and in an early day did much in the east in securing funds from the rich in various investments in this city. Mr. Mack had come to this city in March of this year, at the solicitation of Greene and Merritt, and he entered into a partnership relation with said men in the banking business. He early saw the opportunity for Cedar Rapids as a wholesale center, and purchased stock in the steam ship company, went east in June, purchased a stock of groceries in New York City, had them transported by rail to Pittsburg, and personally saw that they were properly stored on the "Cedar Rapids." On the route he made a purchase of a considerable cargo of Kenawha salt. All of which were shipped to Cedar Rapids, and was the first exclusive wholesale stock of groceries in this city. This had an effect of reducing the price of salt from $5 per barrel, to one-half, and it had the further effect of reducing the price of nearly every commodity, so that Cedar Rapids, on account of its transportation facilities, became known as a cheap trading center, and I believe has retained that reputation up to the present time.
On this first trip of the "Cedar Rapids," came as a passenger from Pittsburg, Susan H. Greene, better known to you, as Mrs. A. S. Belt. If we could only have the impression of what this seventeen-year-old young lady saw on this trip from Pittsburg to Cedar Rapids, in the '50s, along this historic waterway, we should undoubtedly have at least a chapter of the history of the country and of the life of the people as she observed it, and it would no doubt make a valuable addition to the history of this county.
The "Cedar Rapids" made in all, twelve trips during the season, to St. Louis, stopping at every point along the way to pick up cargo or passengers. In this respect, the captain was much like President Stickney, of the Great Western, who replied to the manager of an electric road the other day, wanting certain traffic relations established, that he would stop for a farm wagon, providing there was anything in it. Of the Cedar Rapids business men, who, during this time received large shipments of goods from time to time, I note the following: A. C. Keyes, J. S. Cook, A. H. Atwell, H. C. Camp, H. G. Angle, W. W. Smith Bros., Stanchfield, Taylor, Greene, and W. B. Mack.
From the issue of July 29th, I find the following: "The 'Cedar Rapids' left for St. Louis yesterday, and had in tow, a barge loaded with 1,138 sacks of oats, 736 sacks of wheat, some corn and 938 barrels of flour. At Rochester it will take on 200 barrels of flour. It had besides twenty passengers. It was frequently difficult to get under the bridge at Moscow, so a quantity of sand was taken on board at Cedar Rapids to weigh the steamer down sufficiently to get under the bridge, when the weight of the cargo was not sufficient." On October 14th, the newspaper again mentioned the steamer having arrived from St. Louis with a good cargo, the bulk of which was 45,000 feet of lumber, consigned to O. O. Stanchfield and Gordon & Enos, the captain further reports low water and numerous sand-bars.
The steamer seems to have run until about the middle of November, when she was laid up at St. Louis, and was expected to have gone into winter trade on the Red river. Dr. S. D. Carpenter and G. W. Hollet having gone to New Orleans to make the arrangements. The newspaper for December speaks of the parties having returned unable to book the steamer for the winter trade on the Red river, as she was not constructed properly for Southern trade.
Early in March of the following year the whistle of the "Cedar Rapids" again greeted the denizens of this city, bringing a large cargo of freight, leaving again on the 14th with 4,300 bushels of grain and sixteen passengers. On this trip was one of our honored townsmen, George Haman, who had come from Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, two years previously, and who now was on his way to St. Louis to buy his first stock of drugs. He returned in about ten days with a well selected stock, and has been in active business in the same location ever since. The officers this year were captain, B. Tay; clerk, G. W. Hollet, mate, T. G. Isherwood, and pilot, Merrit. Mr. Haman speaks in glowing terms of the fine treatment received while on board, of the luxurious staterooms and of the magnificent table which was fit for a king. On one of these trips certain machinery was broken at Rochester, and it was thought that they had to go afoot to Muscatine to make the repairs before the steamer could proceed further. A village blacksmith by the name of Jim Grant, a cousin of the general, after looking over the broken piston rods, said in his laconic way, "I'd rather pound away here all summer, than have a man walk to Muscatine and back," and he was as good as his word, for in the morning he had the damage repaired and received a good day's wages and three cheers from the crew and the passengers.
In the issue of May 5th, the paper mentioned the steamer "Cedar Rapids" as departing from this city for Burlington with 9,000 bushels of grain with A. W. Lamb as captain. This was the last trip the "Cedar Rapids" made on Cedar river water, as by the issue of May 19th the paper speaks of the "Cedar Rapids" sinking another steamer near Burlington. Mr. Isherwood tells me, that the steamer which was sunk was called the "Canton" and owned by John Roads of Savannah, Ill. The accident was due to a mistake of signals. The injured parties held the "Cedar Rapids" and a long litigation ensued, which was a severe blow to the stockholders, who lost their steamer. The sound of the whistle of the "Cedar Rapids" was never heard again, and it closes the chapter as far as steam boating below the dam is concerned.
The day of steamboating was about over. A new method of transportation was devised, and millions of dollars which had been spent by the state and by the nation was now of but little account, and the grants of land which had been made in order to improve the navigation of our river, was now changed, and given in the extension of railroads. June 15, 1859, is the great gala day of Cedar Rapids, for it is on this day that the last rail was laid which connected us with Chicago, and the far East, and the celebration of this occasion is the most noted that we have ever had up to the present time. There were orators from the East, from the South and from the North, and the news of this celebration was spread broadcast over the land and it seemed to have been of such a flowery kind that it caused the waters of the Cedar to flow backwards, and only Elias Doty has ever since that time succeeded in piloting a steamboat on the murky waters of the Cedar, as far as Rochester.
As I have stated before, the dam across the Cedar was erected in 1842, although Mrs. John F. Ely says the dam was never completed, and her husband constantly spent large sums of money to keep it up, and it was not long till quite a traffic was going on above the dam as far as Cedar Falls. Early in 1858, T. G. Isherwood came from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, the son of a boat builder, and he set to work to build the first boat of any size for river traffic. It was built for Freeman Smith & Co., and nearly all the lumber was sawed by Snouffer & Watrous and came out of Bever Park. It made its trial trip on September 30, 1858. It was a stern wheeler, single deck, 125 feet long, 125 tons burden, called the "Export." From the paper of October 7, I quote the following: "The new steamer 'Export' made her trial trip up the river last Friday, having on board some 70 or 80 of our citizens. She performed well, and all on board were delighted with the trip. We are happy to know that the whole community unite in awarding the owners, Freeman Smith &. Co., much praise. The list of officers are as follows: Master, Freeman Smith, Jr.; clerk, S. D. McCaulley; engineer, Tom Stanley; mate, Tom G. Isherwood." The paper for the next few weeks speaks in glowing terms of the "Export" and what a trade the merchants of this city have worked up with the towns along the river. That the boat makes the distance by river from Waterloo in fourteen hours and from Vinton, in five hours. The Waverly Republican, then edited by our townsman, J. O. Stewart, asks the people of Waverly and the surrounding country to obtain their goods by way of Cedar Rapids, as the cheapest and quickest method by which to get goods into that region of the country.