Advantages of Barges

• Barges, or flat-bottomed boats, provided the least expensive mode of travel in the 19th century. They were cheap to manufacture out of local lumber and used no fuel. Families sometimes built their own barges and loaded all of their belongings onto them. They navigated the barges by using "sweeps," or long oars, to avoid shallow waters. When tugboats arrived on the scene, barges became the energy-efficient super haulers we see today.
  
  

Early Ohio River Barges

• The Ohio River starts at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It flows for 981 miles and empties into the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois. Barges floated downstream and brought settlers and their goods to their new homes in the west. The barges were one-way conveyances since they had no method of propulsion and could not travel upstream. When passengers reached their destination, they often dismantled the barge and used the wood to build their homes.
  
  

Canals Increase Traffic

• When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a series of canals in the first half of the 19th century, they revolutionized Ohio River travel. Regional canals allowed for the seamless flow of goods. The Ohio and Erie Canal, built in 1832, connected the Ohio River to Lake Erie and the eastern seaboard. It allowed thriving new industries to burgeon along the river, most of which used economical barges to transport their wares.
  
  

Ohio River Barge Disasters

• During the era of westward expansion, barge accidents often occurred on the Ohio River. In 1824, Congress ordered the Army Corp of Engineers to remove the sandbars and debris that created hazards for travelers. Ohio River traffic increased once the engineers removed these obstructions. Yet barge accidents continue to occur. In 1999, four barges collided near Louisville, Kentucky. Two of the barges leaked gasoline into the Ohio River. In 2007, another disaster occurred near Metropolis, Illinois. Up to 8,000 gallons of cumene, also known as isopropyl benzene, entered the river when a barge hit the wall of a canal lock.
  
  

Barges Today

• The barges on the Ohio River today are huge in comparison to those that sent early settlers west. They average 195 feet in length and can carry 1,500 tons. In 1995, 236 million tons of cargo were transported by barge along the Ohio River. Products transported by barge include coal, oil, grain, petroleum, lumber, sand, gravel and paper. Barges continue to offer an economical transportation mode on the Ohio and many other rivers.