efinements, meanwhile, were under way on a technology
that imposed a sea change on the existing model of
maritime commerce. Wind power was replaced by the mechanical
force of steam power, which ramped up the maritime chain’s
capabilities and increased the volume of industrial outputs for
ports to handle.
The first steamboats appeared in Baltimore’s harbor in 1813.
Now, steam-powered vessels could navigate the Chesapeake at
regularly scheduled times, strengthening Baltimore’s mastery as
the Bay’s dominant port and increasing commerce on both sides
of the Chesapeake.
Depending on the need, steamers, which resembled a cross
between a barge and a small ocean liner, provided basic cargo
transportation or luxury accommodations for overnight cruises.
Either way, they were the Port’s economic lifeline until rendered
obsolete by subsequent transportation developments like the
interstate highway system and Bay Bridge. The Baltimore Steam
Packet Line, affectionately called the Old Bay Line, founded in
1840 with Enoch Pratt as the lead investor, was the oldest existing
steamship line in the United States when it finally ended its
Norfolk run in 1962.
The Industrial Revolution had other implications for
shipping. Greater mechanical speed and reliability meant
that larger batches of manufactured products could be made
in less time, which created demand for more ships to move
product to market, and more roads. Baltimore’s flour exporters
were among the first merchants to use steam to power milling
operations dockside and reduce transportation costs; by the
late 1820s, Baltimore became the world’s biggest flour market.
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igger
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etter
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