6/13/2011:
“Of all the variable things in creation the most uncertain are the action of a jury, the state of woman’s mind, and the condition of the Missouri River.” Sioux City Register, March 28, 1868
Spanning nearly 2,300 miles from St. Louis to central Montana, the ever-shifting Missouri River presented a constant danger to 19th century Americans living beside or upon the flowing waters. As one captain of the Corps of Engineers penned nearly a century ago, the Missouri River “represented in the highest degree the peculiar dangers characteristic of alluvial streams.”
The swift current, snags and ruffled surface kept even the most experienced river pilot ever alert; one missed change, and the river would claim its next victim. Likewise, 19th century residents of Missouri River settlements had to be of the hardiest sort, enduring among other hardships of frontier living, the constant danger of flooding.
To address these needs and encourage commercial growth, Congress created the Missouri River Commission in 1884 to accomplish continuous, progressive development of the river. The commission was charged with making surveys, stabilizing the riverbed, preventing erosion of the banks, clearing up snags, as well as maintaining the river’s channel and depth sufficient for commerce.
For nearly two decades, the Missouri River Commission carried out projects to protect farm land, buildings and railroads. It developed some of the most effective methods then known to engineering for the control of alluvial rivers. It also conducted a detailed survey of the entire river, producing a series of eighty-three individual maps. Finely detailed, the topographical maps include water depth soundings, sandbars, currents, ownership of the land along the river as well as detailed street maps of river settlements.
Yet Congress’ ultimate rationale for funding the commission was to increase commerce on the river. In this it was a failure. Steamboat travel was already in decline due to railroads, and improvements on the river did little to increase commercial traffic. As a result, on this date in 1902, the Missouri River Commission was abolished by an act of Congress.
Dakota Datebook written by Christina Sunwall
Sources:
Chittenden, Hiram Martin. History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River: Life and Adventures of Joseph La Barge. New York: Francis P. Harper, 1903
Casler, Michael M., Steamboats of the Fort Union Fur Trade. Williston: Fort Union Association, 1999
Steamboating on the Missouri & Osage Rivers. Cole County Historical Society, Jefferson City, MO. http://www.colecohistsoc.org/steamboat2.html