In 1813, Captain Samuel Ward launched the Connecticut, the first steamboat to serve the Connecticut River. By the 1820s and 1830s, steam travel had become a fixture, offering more predictable service regardless of wind or tide. Steamboats like the 273-foot-long City of Hartford and the Granite State could make the journey from Hartford to New York City in 14 to 18 hours, often departing in the evening and arriving the next morning—ushering in the age of the “night boat.”
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