N Cpedia: Steamboats

In North Carolina, the concept of travel by steamboat was first introduced in 1815, when Archibald D. Murphey chaired a legislative committee on inland navigation. The first steamboat entered the state in 1818 when the New Bern Steamboat Company welcomed the arrival of the Norfolk to New Bern. The steamer was built in Norfolk, Va., the city for which it was named. Read more about the history of North Carolina's steamboats in this article.