The Rumseian Experiment

The replica of the Rumsey steamboat traveled to the park and was positioned in front of the Rumsey Monument that is located along the Potomic. The granite column overlooking the river in Shepherdstown is dedicated to James Rumsey, the Potomac’s own pioneer of steam navigation.




James Rumsey claimed to have invented the first steamboat. His steam engine had one cylinder. The piston rod operated a water pump in like fashion. An intake valve allowed the pump to suction river water. Then that valve closed and the pump forced the water though a discharge pipe at the stern. The result was jet propulsion—not unlike the modern jet ski watercraft.

Directly coupling the engine piston rod to the water pump piston was true genius. Rumsey, however, did not patent the direct coupling idea. It would be 1840 before anyone did. What may seem to us as common sense today had to be invented in 1787.












On its demonstration run, Rumsey’s steamboat boat carried passengers at a speed of 3 miles per hour, both upriver and down. Those in attendance believed the boat to be carrying three tons—half of its maximum load.





With the exception of his brother-in-law, Charles Morrow, who manned the tiller, Rumsey allowed only ladies on board for the maiden run. It has been speculated that he was fearful that male passengers might be too inquisitive in their study of the power plant. But he may have had another motive for only having the ladies on board—to demonstrate the engine’s safety and the lack of soot and cinders from the boiler’s exhaust.





The only real problems with Rumsey’s engine were the continual steam leaks. Rumsey was constantly re-soldering steam pipes and fittings. Such was the state of technology available in the frontier village known as Shepherdstown.



There are a group of loyal Shepherdstown Rumseans who keep the Rumsey experiment alive and well.



Grandma Great is listening to the history of the boat and seemed to be really interested in the fellow with the beard!




You may have thought Robert Fulton invented the steam boat! On December 3, 1787, Rumsey successfully demonstrated the boat against the current of the Potomac at Shepherdstown, 20 years before Robert Fulton’s effort. In search of financing, Rumsey traveled to Philadelphia and England, where he built a 100-foot prototype of the steamboat. Unfortunately, he died suddenly after appearing before a London business group, and his competitor Robert Fulton—who demonstrated his boat on the Hudson River and got far more publicity—received credit for the first steamboat.

Tomorrow we will look around the 4th of July celebration grounds at Rumsey Monument Park.