
Steamboats on Long Island Sound by Norman J. Brouwer
After the war of 1812 the steamboat service industry really took off. Steamboats took passengers and a variety of raw resources to Hartford, CT, from Rhode Island to New York, from Fall River to Bedford, MA - etc. As new industries developed, steamboat companies grew and became competitive with each other. As a result of all this growth, it is no surprise that steamboats were referred to as "floating palaces".