Steam! Taming the River Monster

In 1807, folks living along the Hudson River saw a strange fire-breathing monster churning the waters. The sight of Robert Fulton's Clermont created havoc on the shore and river. One of the on-lookers, a young Brenton Dixon, got a job aboard the steamboat and assisted Fulton and his crew. Brenton continued working on steamboats throughout their great pre-Civil War heyday.