Editing Fort Gibson, Oklahoma (section)

===Steamboats===
Part of the reason for the locale’s original success was that Fort Gibson was placed on the [[Grand River (Oklahoma)|Grand River]] (a/k/a the lower section of the [[Neosho River]]) near where both it and the [[Verdigris River]] join and enhance the [[Arkansas River]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=AR010 |title=Arkansas River|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref><ref name=Riverboat>{{cite web|url= https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2016975/m1/14/?q=%22~1~1~1~1~1%22~1  |title= The Riverboat Frontier: Early-Day Commerce in the Arkansas and Red River Valleys|publisher=The Chronicles of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Historical Society, pp. 189-205|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>  This made it the [[head of navigation]] on the Arkansas—the farthest point up the river that could be navigated by significant ships—and an obvious river transportation point.<ref>Jason King, "[https://www.hiddenhydrology.org/bring-me-the-head-of-navigation/ Bring Me the Head of Navigation]", Hidden Hydrology, Oct. 27, 2018; accessed 2023.05.15</ref><ref name=Riverboat/><ref name=Steamboat>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=ST026 |title=Steamboats and landings|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>  So, while some of the early vessels operating from the town were [[canoe]]s, [[bateau]]x, or even [[keelboat]]s (frequently pulled by men on shore with [[towrope]]s), the town was reached by [[steamboat]] as early as 1824 when the ''Florence'' delivered army recruits to Fort Gibson.<ref name=Riverboat/><ref name=Steamboat/>   In February 1828 the locale received a visit from a vessel called ''The Facility'' captained by one Philip Pennywit, and was within three years of that a regular steamboat stop.<ref name=Riverboat/>  In 1832, noted author [[Washington Irving]], who had spent twenty days traveling in Indian Territory—an experience documented in his book ''A Tour on the Prairies''—departed the territory via steamboat at Fort Gibson.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=IR004 |title= Irving, Ellsworth, Latrobe, and Pourtales Expedition|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=August 1, 2024}}</ref>

Steamboat traffic grew and peaked in the two decades preceding the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name=Riverboat/>  For example, the riverboat ''Philip Pennywit'' (part owned by the aforementioned captain) was advertising in February 1849 its regular runs from New Orleans to Fort Gibson.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/philip-pennywit-steamboat-18950/  |title=Philip Pennywit [Steamboat]|publisher=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>  The usual "boating season" ran from January to June, but some ships attempted to operate year-round.<ref name=Steamboat/>

The Civil War curtailed riverboat activity, as when the Union steamer [[Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams|''J. R. Williams'' was destroyed by Confederate forces]] on June 15, 1864 trying to make a supply run to Fort Gibson.<ref name=Riverboat/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TA010 |title=Tamaha|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=July 18, 2024}}</ref>  Nevertheless, activity picked up again after the war, as shown by a report in 1870 that twenty cargo-laden steamboats averaging three hundred tons apiece were operating between Fort Gibson and various ports on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.<ref name=Riverboat/>  However, with the rise of railroads, riverboat usage trailed off and Fort Gibson declined as a transportation and commercial center.<ref name=Riverboat/>