Steamboats transported passengers to and from Norwich from 1817 to 1896. When the Norwich & Worcester Railroad Company first began train service to Norwich in 1840, they quickly teamed up with steamboat passenger boats to ferry New Englanders to Boston and New York. This, and other joint rail/sea partnerships, helped fuel an economic boom for the port city of Norwich.
The placemarks listed below are arranged in chronological order according to the year in which the boats first began service to Norwich. Place your cursor on any of the images on this page to magnify.
The purpose of this Iconic Norwich category is to provide an overview of several of the more memorable steamboats that have graced the waters of Norwich during this period. A much more complete description and list of the steam vessels that were a part of the sea/rail transportation system can be found by clicking HERE. The information and image sources for everything on the page can be accessed by clicking HERE and then typing in the name of the particular steamboat that you’re interested in the SEARCH box.
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Steamboat Companies
Commercial steamboat transportation was available from Norwich to New York by 1817. The steamboat was a popular way to travel on the waters and its services expanded rapidly. Several steamboat lines were organized in the 1815-1820 time period. However, in the early 1840s the use of steamboats dramatically increased when railroad companies, with their cost-effective way of shipping freight, began to acquire the steamboat lines.
The first “Norwich Line” was the steamboat transport arm of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad Company between 1840-1848. It operated several steamboats; the Atlantic, the Worcester, the Cleopatra, the Knickerbocker and the Mohegan (a spare boat).
Later, in 1848, the Norwich and New London Steamboat Company was organized, with a capital of $200,000 ($6,600,000 in today’s dollars), with Henry B. Norton as president. The company operated their boats in connection with the Norwich & Worcester Railroad Company. They operated the steamboats the Cleopatra, the Norwich, the Worcester, and the Connecticut. The Commonwealth was built for them in 1855 and remained in service to Norwich until 1860. The company discontinued their operations and was dissolved in 1860.
In 1860 the Norwich & New York Transportation Company was organized with a capital of $350,000. ($11,100,000 in today’s dollars). Captain Joseph J. Comstock, of New York, was the first president. The company was later owned by the Norwich & Worcester Railroad Company, then acquired in 1899 by New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, and then in 1904 purchased by the New England Navigation Company.
The Norwich and New York Transportation Company’s primary purpose was to transport passengers aboard steamboats between Norwich and New York. They operated five fine steamers built expressly for their line. The steamers of their “Norwich Line” were named after the ports of the cities they serviced. The City of Boston made her first trip from New York, July 4, 1861; the City of New York first trip July 22, 1861; the City of Norwich first trip July 19, 1862; the City of New London first trip May 22, 1863, and finally the City of Worcester began service in 1881.
The Norwich and New York Propeller Company was a freight line that serviced Norwich from 1893 to at least 1911. Their principal boat, the Chelsea, could carry 600 tons of cargo. It was 150′ long by 34′ wide and employed a screw propeller. The boat sailed between Norwich and New York every week, year-round.
Name : Steamboat Norwich
Built : Lawrence & Sneeden of New York
Time Frame on Thames River: 1836-1841
Use : Transport passengers to/from Norwich
Owner : New York and Norwich Steamboat Company
Size : 160′ long by 12’3″ wide
Name : Steamboat Cleopatra
Built : Bishop & Simonson in 1836 of New York City
Time Frame on Thames River : 1840-1855
Use : Transport passengers to/from Allyn’s Point and New York
Owner : Cornelius Vanderbilt
Operator : Norwich & New London Steamboat Co, Henry B. Norton
Size : 193′ long by 23′ wide
Name : Steamboat Worcester
Built : Bishop & Simonson of New York in 1841
Time Frame on Thames River: 1842-1855
Use : Transport passengers to/from Norwich
Owner : Norwich & New London Steamboat Co., Henry B. Norton
Size : 219′ long by 28′ wide
Name : PS Commonwealth
Built : Lawrence & Foulks of New York 1854-1855
Time Frame on Thames River : 1855-1860
Use : Transport passengers to/from Allyn’s Point and New York
Owner : Norwich & New London Steamboat Co., Henry B. Norton
Size : 316′ long by 41′ wide, more than 1000 passengers
Lithograph by Nathaniel Currier
1846 Wreck of The Atlantic
Name : Atlantic
Built by : Bishop & Simonson of New York in 1845-1846
Time Frame : May 1846 – Thanksgiving Day 1846
Use : Luxury passenger transport
Owner : Norwich & Worcester Railroad, Cornelius Vanderbilt
Size : 320′ long by 36′ wide, 75 passenger capacity
*place cursor on photo to enlarge
During her short lifespan the Atlantic made regular voyages from Norwich to Long Island, via New London.
Atlantic was built as a luxury vessel by businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt. It was the first steamboat to introduce gas lights on board. With the help of his brother, the Vanderbilt’s created the Norwich & New London Steamship Company. They laid the keel for the crown jewel of their company in November 1845. It cost the company $150,000 ($5,200,000 in today’s dollars) to get the ship into operations. She was completed and launched in May of 1846.
The waters around Fishers Island, New York and out to nearby Race Rock Lighthouse are littered with numerous shipwrecks. One of the deadliest occurred on Thanksgiving Day 1846 when the magnificent steamship Atlantic was driven onto the rocks to her doom.
The six-month old ship was on its regular route from Norwich to New York City when she stopped to pick up passengers in New London. A strong gale was blowing as she left the dock just after midnight on Thanksgiving morning with over 100 souls on board. Once out in the sound, in spite of the icy blast, her powerful engine continued to propel her through the waves. But, ultimately, strong winds caused one of the boilers to explode and the Atlantic ran into the rocks near Fishers Island. Some passengers held on for their life, while others jumped overboard hoping to be rescued. Many passengers were swept away by vicious waves. It is estimated that 50 people were lost.
Name : City of Norwich
Built : Greenpoint or Brooklyn New York in 1862
Time Frame : 1863-circa 1879
Use : Transport freight & passengers between Norwich & NY
Owner : Norwich and New York Transportation Company
Size : 250 passenger capacity
Note : Sister ship to the City of New London
Name : City of New London
Built : Greenport, New York in 1863
Time Frame : 1863-1871
Use : Transport freight & passenger between Norwich & NY
Owner : Norwich and New York Transportation Company
Size : 219′ long by 36′ wide
Note : Sister ship to the City of Norwich
*place cursor on photo to enlarge
1871 Fire Aboard Steamer
CITY of NEW LONDON
On November 22, 1871 a fire aboard the City of New London steamer killed at least a dozen people and destroyed the boat. The fire started about 4:30 am in the galley after the ship’s cook kindled a fire for breakfast. Flames quickly spread to cotton bales in the cargo area.
The City of New London was on her way to Chelsea Harbor, only 3½ miles from port, when the accident occurred. The ship carried a cargo of heavy freight, principally cotton, rags, groceries, leather and hides.
According to the New York Times (11/23/1871) article of the 12 dead, 9 were crew members and 3 were passengers. One of the passengers killed was the well-known Norwich businessman C.B. Rogers, of the C.B. Rogers & Company.
The City of New London was a sidewheel steamer that was part of the coordinated rail-steamer transportation system. The system provided passenger and freight service from New York to New England cities. City of New London and her sister vessel, City of Norwich, primarily carried freight for the Norwich and New York Transportation Co.
Name : Steamboat Ella
Built : Charles Mallory of Mystic, Connecticut, 1864
Time Frame : 1864-1903
Use : Transport passengers to/from Norwich & Watch Hill
Owner : Norwich, New London & Watch Hill Steamboat Co.
Size : unknown
Name : City of Lawrence
Built : 1867
Time Frame : 1867-circa 1880
Use : Transport freight & passengers between Norwich & NY
Owner : Norwich Line of New York & New England Railroad
Size : 243′ long by 62′-6″, 250 passenger capacity
Name : City of Worcester
Built : Harlan & Hollingsworth of Wilmington Delaware in 1842
Time Frame : 1881- prior to 1896
Use : Transport passengers to/from Norwich and New York
Owner : Norwich Line of New York & New England Railroad
Size : 340′ long by 46′ wide, 742 passenger capacity
Name : City of Lowell
Built : Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine
Time Frame : 1894- prior to 1896
Use : Transport passenger between Norwich & NY
Owner : Norwich & New York Transportation Company
Size : 336′ long by 66′-1″ wide, 633 passengers
The End of An Era
The Norwich Line’s City of Worcester was the last surviving paddle steamer in the New England Company’s fleet that serviced Norwich. The use of steamboats as a means of public transportation gave way to the automobile; a faster, more efficient mode of travel. The last of the large, passenger steamboats in Chelsea Harbor was seen in the 1895-1896 time frame.
The photo shown below is the steamboat City of Worcester partially sunk in New London Harbor on May 29, 1898. She was raised and returned to service. The end of the line for the City of Worcester came in 1914 when she was dismantled after lying abandoned and rotting in Stonington harbor.
