Painting "The New Orleans Steaming Upstream by Moonlight, 1811" by Gary R. Lucy.

In 1811, Nicholas Roosevelt did what many thought impossible; he successfully guided a steamboat up and down the Ohio River and eventually to New Orleans, a major feat for the time.

2011 is the bicentennial of an event that changed the course of history in North America and the world. The mission of the 2011 Steamboat Bicentennial Committee is to engage, excite, and educate the public about the history of steamboats and their dramatic impact on the economic, social, cultural, and environmental development of the United States