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 List of Merchant Steamboats in NC (prior to 1850)
    The first steamboats or steamships began plying North Carolina's sounds and rivers in 1818. The state's outer banks and difficult river navigation posed significant barriers. A local steamboat construction industry started in Fayetteville, Wilmington and Washington, NC. Additional material will be added to this section. Please provide any information for changes to this list to Ron Vinson.




    
   The steamboat transportation industry in North Carolina was much larger than previous reports. We have identified about 100 (at present) steamers plying North Carolina rivers, canals and sounds prior to 1861, with an additional 100 such boats (excluding steamer flats and tugs) built and operating between 1861 and 1899. These lists are expected to grow.
   This comprehensive listing does not contain the occasional ocean-going steamship that once or only a few times on an irregular basis stopped at Wilmington or Smithville (now Southport) or other NC seaports. The intent is to list cargo and passenger steamers, not tugs. Note: There were many lighters — large flat-bottomed barges — that are not included in this list, as these vessels were not considered "Steam Boats" by contemporary sources. Links are provided to some steamers to provide additional information and drawings/photos, where available. More information on specific steamers is constantly being added. 
Steamers in North Carolina from 1812 to 1849 (click link) are contained in this list.
Steamers in North Carolina from 1850 to 1860 (click link) are contained in this list.
Steamers in North Carolina from 1861 to 1880 (click link) are contained in this list.
Steamers in North Carolina from 1881 to 1899 (click link) are contained in this list.

Listing of Steamboats (Cargo and/or Passenger) on NC rivers and sounds (does not include tugs)
Wheel types - P (sidewheel); W (stern or center); S (screw drive);   Service - f  (ferry)

Year Built

Name of Vessel

Wheel Type

Tons

Built In

First Home Port

NC River/Sound Routes/Dates

Final Disposition

1812

Sea Horse

P

71

Elizabeth, NJ

Perth Amboy, NJ

Roanoke 1818 only

Abandoned 1823

1818

Albemarle (I)

P

80

New York, NY

Edenton, NC

Albemarle Sound 1819-1821

Lost 1825
1818 Norfolk P

222

Norfolk, VA Norfolk, VA Newbern 4-17-1818;
Neuse River 		Stopped NC run 1818;
Abandoned 1840

1818

Henrietta

P

152

Fayetteville, NC

Wilmington, NC

Cape Fear 4-30-1818 launched; first trip in July probably

Abandoned 1858

1818

Prometheus

W 

 

Swansboro, NC

Wilmington, NC

Cape Fear 1818 from Wilmington to Beaufort

1825

1819

North Carolina (I)

P

115

Fayetteville, NC

Georgetown, SC

Cape Fear

Sunk in late 1823; raised and operated from 1824 on; abandoned 1829

1819

Petersburg

P

142

New York, NY

Petersburg, VA

Roanoke 1829; Albemarle Sound 1830
Tar (after 1836)

After 1836
1825 Codorus (first iron steamboat built in U.S.) U

14

York, PA Baltimore, MD Clubfoot & Harlowe Canal 1829; Newbern - Beaufort 1830+ Abandoned 183?

1826

Cotton Plant (I)

P

119

Fayetteville, NC

Wilmington, NC

Wilmington to Fayetteville (1826 - 1827), then Wilmington to Southport (then called Smithville)

Ceased operations by 1837

1828 Enterprise P Wilmington, NC Wilmington, NC Wilmington & Fayetteville
1829 Wilmington (I) P

229

Philadelphia, PA Wilmington, DE Cape Fear (mid-1830s) Lost 1838

1830

North Carolina (II)

P

70

Norfolk, VA

Norfolk, VA

Roanoke

Burned 1831

1830

Lady of the Lake

W 

 

Portsmouth, VA

Portsmouth

Dismal Swamp Canal to Elizabeth City

 

1830 John Stoney P

155

New York, NY New York, NY Pamlico, Croatan & Albemarle Sounds Sept. 1833 Abandoned 1840
1830 Maryland P

50

Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, PA Roanoke Aug. 1833 on; between
Halifax - Blakely 		Abandoned 1840
1831 John Walker P Wilmington, NC Fayetteville, NC Cape Fear Boiler Exploded June 1836 below Wilmington
1832 Walter Raleigh P

157

Norfolk, VA Norfolk, VA Roanoke; Elizabeh City to Charleston burned August 1834; Lost 1845

1833

Clarendon      

P

140

Wilmington, NC

Wilmington, NC

Cape Fear 1833-38

Moved to Savannah River in 1839, burned at moorings 1839

1835

Duncan McRae4

P

215

Wilmington, NC

Wilmington, NC

Cape Fear 1835

Lost 1841

1835

Edmund D. McNair

P

71

Washington, NC

Washington, NC

Neuse & Tar 1836;
Cape Fear 1837

Lost 1841 on Tar River

1835

Roanoke

P

66

Philadelphia, PA

Plymouth, NC

Roanoke

Abandoned 1840
1836 Boston P

248

New York, NY Albany, NY Wilmington - Charleston, SC 
May 1837 		Confederate control 1861
1837 Cotton Plant (II) P Wilmington, NC Wilmington, NC Cape Fear Sank in 1847

1837

Cape Fear (I)

 

 

 

 

 

Abandoned 1895

1837

North Carolina (III)

P

370

New York, NY

Wilmington, NC

Wilmington to Charleston SC 
Dec. 1837 

Lost in collision 1840
1837 C. Vanderbilt P

346

New York, NY New York, NY Wilmington to Charleston SC 
Dec. 1838 		Confederate control 1861
1838 Governor Dudley
(renamed Catawba 5/8/57) 		P

408

New York, NY Wilmington, NC Wilmington to Charleston SC 1838 Sold to foreign owners  1860
1839 Wilmington (II) P

405

Baltimore, MD Baltimore, MD Wilmington to Charleston SC  Sept. 1839 Sold to foreign owners 1854

1840

Charles Downing14
 (renamed Calhoun 7/26/49)

P

112

St. Augustine, FL

St. Augustine, FL

Cape Fear

Burned 6/22/55 at Wilmington, NC

1840 Astoria P

102

New York, NY