The Riverfront Era

The Port of St. Louis

 
covered wagon in front of commercial wares display

National Park Service, Tom Dewey

In 1817, the first steamboat to arrive in St. Louis changed the city forever. Steamboats made the Missouri River a gateway to the West. During the 1840s and 1850s, the St. Louis levee bustled with intense daily activity. Hundreds of boats moored there each year. The city made a fortune on fees charged at the port. The Port of St. Louis was important as a Midwest distribution point for goods from other parts of the United States and for international imports, facilitating and fueling westward expansion.
 
 

Museum Exhibits From This Era

  • An old-fashioned black stove with claw feet on the bottom and engravings on the front
    Cast Iron Stove

    Cast iron manufacturing was one of 1800s St. Louis's biggest industries, and many overlanders bought stoves here before departing.

  • Several small cans in a larger carrying container
    Spice Caddy

    This artifact was owned by a gentleman who moved west from Ohio to Kansas in the 1850s.

  • A black saddle
    Samantha Packwood's saddle

    Samantha Packwood used this saddle to ride a mule west along the Oregon Trail in 1844.

Last updated: August 20, 2025

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