Hammond & Thorne built a small steamboat on Rock River below the upper dam

The evidence

• “In 1854, Hammond & Thorne built a small steamboat on Rock River, below the upper dam. There being a great demand for the boat on the upper waters of the river, the Captain of the craft begun to devise ways and means for "jumping the dam." His idea was to load his boat astern with some heavy material, which would throw the bow out of water.”

  1879-history-of-rock-county/10-rock-county-ch04-early-maps-courts-railroads.md, PDF p. 356 / book p. 360

  Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources

  

• “Golf is not the only sport enjoyed by the citizens of Janesville, however, as the use of the river has grown within the past few years to a large extent. Steamboats have navigated above the upper dam for many years ; the first steamboat was built in 1854 by Hammond & Thorne ; after that had disappeared about 1860, a steamer eighty-five feet long called the "Star of the West ' was constructed by William Foster ; she made a few trips and a quarrel ensued between her owner and the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railway Company over the question of the construction of a draw bridge ; as the cheapest way out of it the railway”

  1908-brown-rock-county/26-history-of-janesville.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 72 / book p. 584

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources