most
prominent shipyard, Bidwell and Banta, launched the
Niagara in 1846, the vessel was one of the largest, fastest,
and most luxurious steamboats the world had ever seen.
Seeing
the much-heralded Niagara for the first time, one reporter
wrote that "we had been lead to anticipate a most
magnificent boat, but the reality far exceeded our
anticipations."
The Niagara completed its first run from
Buffalo to Milwaukee on May 20, 1846, eliciting this report
in the Milwaukee Sentinel:
| The arrival of
this splendid steamer created quite a sensation. It
was supposed that she could not get over the [St. Clair]
Flats…It was an agreeable surprise, therefore,…to
see her dashing into port, with all her colors set and
music playing. Everybody hurried down to the piers to
look at her, and a very general verdict of approval
and admiration was returned. The Niagara is, in truth,
a noble boat; well modeled, capacious, convenient, swift
and most strongly built. Her after Saloon, on the upper
deck, is superbly fitted and furnished and the accommodations
for steerage passengers on the main deck are unsurpassed. |
 |
 continued
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