What a wonderful trip to follow Mark Twain's Mississippi River adventures! Paddle wheelers, showboats, "rafters" and the romance of the river are all part of the history of river transportation and entertainment in years past. The one hundred year old graphic ad above for with the schedule of arrivals and departures for the steamship "Columbia" revives the aforesaid adventures and brings them to our own Delaware River. Trips to Burlington Island, Bristol, and Philadelphia were all part of river travel in years gone by. Unfortunately, as can be seen tin the news article below accidents were an integral part of river travel. Boilers were also known to have exploded and took the lives of many river riders. In August, 1901, a few years earlier than the Columbia, the steamer "Trenton" burned to the water line, and more than 20 people died and countless were injured. The good and the bad all fall under the category of the "romance of the river." Another fascinating river era was the rafts that once plied the Delaware. The Delaware Inn, which still stands on the shores of the Delaware off Lamberton Street and in the process of preservation, sure contains delightful stories of the rugged canal boat operators who were an integral part of Trenton river history.
