The humble steamboat was like the Internet of the late 1800s in America. Most steamboat traffic was conducted up and down the Mississippi River (like a Tier 1 backbone), delivering packages and people (packets) along the way.
Great American writer Samuel Clemens spent part of his life on steamboats in one capacity or another. Steamboat captains were reknowned for their ability to read a river, as the Mississippi had a habit of altering its topology without warning or much reason. Charts of the Mississippi were out of date at best, and often laughable at worst.
The commerce carried by the steamboat led to the ability for some to become incredibly rich. A famous steamboat destination was the town of Natchez, Mississippi, a long-time river city. There, at one point, of the 60 or so millionaires in the USA, Natchez was home to more than half.