1821 Electric Motor

In 1821 London, British scientist Michael Faraday invented an electric motor. He'd been schooled in chemistry but became intrigued by the discovery of Oersted that electricity flowed through wire produces a magnetic field around the wire. You can read more about Faraday at Wikipedia. Or at his Electric motor at about dot com.

Walk-in-the-Water

Was the first steamboat on Lake Erie. Launched in Aug. 23, 1818, the "Walk-in-the-Water" had a long first trek up the Niagara River from Buffalo to Lake Erie. She was the first steamboat on Lake Erie, Huron and Michigan and the third on the Great Lakes over all. She received her name from the Indians. Her maiden voyage carried 29 passengers. Their fare was $8.00 to Erie.

As I mentioned in an earlier post the waterways were very important in transportation during the first half of the 19th century. Even today the waterways still play an important part.

"Walk-in-the-Water" was 338 tons, length of 135feet and width of 32. The width of the beam was 8 feet and 6 inches. She had a short life. In Oct. 1821 leaving Cleveland she ran into a typical gale. The boat began to leak, she turned back for Buffalo. One of the anchor ropes broke and she began to drag on the anchor. She grounded on the beach south of Buffalo harbor. All were safe.

I mention "Walk-in-the-Water" for another reason. In 1832 the Lancaster Presbyterian Church built their present house of worship with timbers salvaged from "Walk-in-the-Water". Interestingly enough the church was organized in 1818 six months before the launch of "Walk-in-the-Water".

Statehood of States in the United States

When the 19th century began there were 16 states to the union by the end of the century there were 45.

In the columns below you'll see the number in which the state joined the union, the state and then the date.

17 Ohio Mar. 1, 1803
18 Louisiana Apr. 30, 1812
19 Indiana Dec. 11, 1816
20 Mississippi Dec. 10, 1817
21 Illinois Dec. 3, 1818
22 Alabama Dec. 14, 1819
23 Maine Mar. 15, 1820
24 Missouri Aug. 10, 1821
25 Arkansas Jun 15, 1836
26 Michigan Jan. 26, 1837
27 Florida Mar. 3, 1845
28 Texas Dec. 29, 1845
29 Iowa Dec. 28, 1846
30 Wisconsin May 29, 1848
31 California Sep. 9, 1850
32 Minnesota May 11, 1858
33 Oregon Feb. 14, 1859
34 Kansas Jan. 29, 1861
35 West Virginia Jun. 20, 1863
36 Nevada Oct. 31, 1864
37 Nebraska Mar. 1. 1867
38 Colorado Aug. 1, 1876
39 North Dakota Nov. 2, 1889
40 South Dakota Nov. 2, 1889
41 Montana Nov. 8, 1889
42 Washington Nov. 11, 1889
43 Idaho Jul. 3, 1890
44 Wyoming Jul. 10, 1890
45 Utah Jan. 4, 1896