A steamboat from St. Louis (a Mississippi boat, 130 feet long) arrived at Janesville and made an excursion to Jefferson, stopping at villages along the river.

The evidence

• “July 4, 1844, a steamboat from the Mississippi river arrived at Janesville, and taking on the major portion of the inhabitants, made an excursion to Jeft'erson. This was a regular Mississippi boat, 130 feet long, and holding a large number of people.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/26-history-of-janesville.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 21 / book p. 536

  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