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Can flatboats go upstream?
A long sweep at the back of the craft kept the flat- boat in the downstream current. They were not meant to go upstream. The flatboat, however, shared freight duties with another wooden craft that was intended to go upstream, the keelboat. The farmers who used these various kinds of boats generally built them as well.
How long did it take to travel from Indiana to New Orleans in a flatboat?
An English traveler in 1828 reported that “the current [brings flatboats] down at a rate of four miles an hour.” The Navigator, a guide book published from 1801 to 1824, reported that a typical flatboat launched around Rockport, Indiana, took four or five days to float down the Ohio and three to four weeks down the …
When did settlers use flatboats for transportation?
Beginning in the late 1600s the farmers who settled the fertile land in the Connecticut River Valley used the river for trade and transport. Merchants and farmers relied on slow but sturdy flatboats to move their goods and farm produce up and down the river.
What was the problem with flatboats?
The problem with flatboats in terms of river trade was that they only went downstream. When they reached their point of destination, they were usually broken up and sold for lumber. The crew would have walked or ridden back home.
What did flatboats carry?
Flatboats carried a variety of goods to New Orleans, including agricultural products like corn, wheat, potatoes, flour, hay, tobacco, cotton, and whiskey. Livestock such as chickens, cows, and pigs also made their way down the Mississippi in flatboats.
Where were flatboats used in the United States?
In the late 1700s flatboats became a pivotal part of our country’s westward expansion when they began hitting the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers after the American Revolution. While some vessels carried families migrating to new homes in the west, most flatboats were used for commercial purposes.
What were flatboats made out of?
Typically flatboats were constructed of green oak planks, with no nails or iron. A method common to Ohio and Mississippi flatboats was Chine-girder construction where a log was split in half to create two equal “gunwales”. Positioned on either side, they formed a ledge that held the ends of the floor planks.