The locks were meant to allow steamboat travel on the upper portion of the river but this idea never caught on.

With the advent of steamboat travel, the use of the Natchez Trace declined significantly, and the old roadbed was used as local farm roads by the mid-19th century.

The college portion was phased out in the late 1920s after steamboat travel began to change to automobiles.

In 1887, steamboat travel between Philadelphia and Sea Breeze began.

This, combined with a severe decline in steamboat travel on the St. Johns due to increased availability of rail travel signaled the end of the town's prosperity and prominence.

It was a major obstacle to steamboat travel on the Skeena River.

The fact that the Sangamon River was not well-suited for steamboat travel was also a reason for the town's decline.

On the way to Fort Benton, the Missouri River terminus for steamboat travel, Meagher fell ill and stopped for six days to recuperate.

Regular steamboat travel continued until the 1900.

By the 1840s, the dam and lock system was in place, allowing for steamboat travel, but raising the water level of the river so as to hide the falls.