James Rumsey is widely credited (in West Virginia) with inventing the steamboat. Born in Cecil County, Maryland, in 1743, he moved to Shepherdstown, Virginia (it became West Virginia as a result of the Civil War) and successfully demonstrated a steamboat on the Potomac on December 3, 1787. This plaque is at the base of a monument to Rumsey in Shepherdstown. Photo © 2006 Lawrence I. Charters |
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