In 1811, the first inland steamboat, the New Orleans, was launched on the Ohio River. More steamboats followed, and by 1816, a better model called the Washington was launched in Wheeling. By the 1830s, over 450 steamboats were running on the Ohio and nearby rivers.

In West Virginia, steamboats were used on the Big Sandy, Kanawha, Ohio, and Monongahela rivers. There were three main types: packetboats for people and mail, ferryboats for crossing rivers, and towboats for pushing barges. There were also showboats and excursion boats for entertainment.

Steamboats were key for travel and shipping until trains became more popular after the Civil War, though they stayed useful into the 1920s.