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Title: Flood at St. Louis, June 18, 1858
Date: 1858-06-18
Description: A photograph taken by Marine Co. documented the damage in St. Louis from a severe flood on June 18, 1858. The streets were completely covered in water and make-shift planks provided a safe walking platform for people to safely cross from boats to the semi-submerged buildings. Two people can be seen assessing the flood damage from the rooftop of the tallest building on the left of the photograph, while others on the right stand safely on the deck of a steamboat..

Title: Riverfront Old Pix St. Louis Levee
Date: 1858 or 1859
Description: Boats in the picture (from left to right) are: Kate Sweeney, Federal Arch, and Belle Gould. Takes place in St. Louis Levee in 1858 or 1859.

Title: Saint Louis Levee
Date: 1858
Description: Saint Louis, Missouri riverfront at flood stage, 1858.

Title: Fourth and Olive Streets
Date: 1857, 1938-12-01
Description: Fourth and Olive streets, looking west (in the top photo). The Ohio & Mississippi Railroad offices were in the building on the right. Its tracks got to Illinois-town, now East St. Louis, in 1857. An 1865 advertisement said the Ohio & Mississippi was "the Great Broad Gauge Route to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston. Only route to Cincinnati without change of cars. Trains are run by Telegraph. Only route running those elegant state room sleeping cars." The Ohio & Mississippi is now part of the Baltimore & Ohio- and Fourth and Olive has also changed (as shown in the lower of the two photos).

Title: Breaking of the Ice
Date: 1856, 1946-04-07
Description: Fire was not the only cause of disaster along the riverfront, for spring thaws took their toll, too. This scene shows some of the damage which resulted from ice breaking up in '56. Note throng attracted to levee. Spring thaws that took their toll along St. Louis riverfront in the days of heavy steamboat...shows some of the damage which resulted from ice breaking up in 1856. Note crowd attracted to levee... Ice was a deadly menace to the wooden-hulled steamboats, locking them to the shore and then crumpling them into splintered wrecks when it thawed and began to break. This was a typical mid-winter scene on the St. Louis riverfront in the 1850s.

Title: Awful Accident on the North Pennsylvania Rail Road on Thursday July 17, 1856
Date: 1856, 1856

Title: Steamboat fire at Keokuk Landing
Date: 1853-06-18
Description: Portrait of Thomas H. Benton. Text documents his views concerning the Pacific Railroad.

Title: A View of Fort Armstrong
Date: 1853
Description: A view of Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, Mississippi River. Probably 1853.

Title: St. Louis Levee. 1850
Date: 1850
Description: 12.25x10 in photograph of the St. Louis riverfront in 1850 lined with steamboats.

Title: Chouteau Pond. 1850.
Date: 1850
Description: 20x16 in photograph of Chouteau Pond in 1850 with what may be McDowell Medical College in the distance.

Title: High School, Olive Street
Description: Printed illustration of horse drawn carriage on Olive Street in St. Louis, Missouri. A large high school can be seen in the background. The building was built in 1855 in the Lucas Place neighborhood.

Title: Packet Keystone State
Description: Mississippi - Ohio River sidewheeler. The KEYSTONE STATE first was built in Freedom, PA in 1850. She ran 337 tons and had hull measurements of 234' x 26' x 5.7'. She originally ran in the Pittsburgh - Cincinnati trade and later in the St. Louis - New Orleans trade. She was destroyed by fire at Florence, Il on May 31, 1855. The image bears a possible signature of "A Dave" or "A. Dare" which is transcribed on one of the parcels on the main deck, just in front of the stacks., Graphite drawing on paper, undated, c. 1852. Paper size, 5 9/16 x 14 1/2" (140 x 368 mm).

Title: Great Crevasse of the Mississippi
Date: 1858-06-05
Description: The great crevasse of the Mississippi on the plantation of Mr. Bell, near New Orleans, April 11, 1858.--See page 7.

Title: Terrific Fire Among the Steamers In the Harbor of St. Louis, Mo.
Date: 1856-07-26
Description: Between five and six o'clock on Wednesday morning the 2d of July, a fire broke out in the cabin of the steamboat St. Clair, lying at the extreme end of the upper landing, which immediately communicated to the Paul Anderson, lying below her, and before many moments both were enveloped in flames. The hawsers were immediately cut loose, and the burning boats were sent floating down the stream. The current drove them alongside the Grand Turk, Southerner, and Saranak No. 2, lying immediately below, and the flames instantly communicated with those steamers, and in a moment those boats were also enveloped in a terrific blaze of fire. The J. M. Stockwell, lying below the Saranak, also caught fire, and in less than three quarters of an hour, and before the engines could possibly arrive, the above six steamboats were totally destroyed. The Southerner was a splendid new steamer, and only came out at the beginning of the season. She was built in Mobile, entirely of maple wood, and valued at $35,000. She was undergoing extensive repairs, and about to have a magnificent passenger cabin placed on her for the trade between this port and New Orleans. She was not insured in any of the offices here, as far as we could learn. The Paul Anderson was an old boat and was not worth as she stood more than $1000. Her machinery had been taken out, which rendered her all but valueless excepting the wood work and the hull, which was not considered of much account. The J. M. Stockwell was a Wabash river boat, worth about $800. The St. Clair was also an old boat, and not considered worth more than $10,000. The Grand Turk, although a very old craft, was still in fair condition, and was valued at about $20,000. She, years ago, cost $60,000, but had passed the best of her days, and was not worth more yesterday at the outside than the above amount. The Saranak No. 2 was also an old steamboat, not worth more than about $6000. The St. Clair was an old boat, valued at about $10,000. The total amount of property destroyed would probably amount to $75,000. With the exception of the Southerner, none of the other boats were worth much. There were immense crowds of persons collected on both sides of the river, witnessing the fire, which presented at one time a fearfully grand and picturesque sight. It is supposed to have originated through the work of an incendiary.

Title: Thomas Hart Benton Portrait
Description: Engrave portrait of Thomas Hart Benton ca. 1850 by J. Rogers Co. with train vignette underneath.

Title: Eclipse
Description: Painting of the side-wheel packet Eclipse, commemorating her famed (and hotly contested) speed trial of 1853. The boat was designed for the Louisville-New Orleans trade and was given great power with the expectation that she could make the upstream voyage in four days; she never did.

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