East Coast Riverboats
Hi! You have another newbie! This is a truly fantastic site!
I have some questions, but I must start off by saying that my knowledge of steamboats is very patchy, although your site here is teaching me a lot.
Is anyone here familiar with Florida waterways in the past? I need information about steamboats that ran routes up and down the Indian River on the east coast, from about the year 1890 through the next two or three decades. I am assuming there were logging boats, fish boats, pineapple boats and tourist boats.
I have also been trying to find out if gambling boats were legal at that time and place and if not, did they run anyway? Was the gambling out in the open or clandestine? What sorts of games of chance were played on the gambling boats if there were any?
I would be so appreciative for any information anyone could offer. When I Google all I get is information about current boats and offshore gambling cruises which doesn't help at all.
Were the first steamers really called 'stinkpots' by the sailboat runners? There was some mention of that in my research, and also that the steamer folk called the sailboaters 'windjammers', with both terms being somewhat pejorative. Any idea if this is so?
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