For a project in APUSH we are doing a shark tank style presentation in which we attempt to acquire investments for mid 19th century innovations. I was assigned the steamboat, and one piece of information I am having trouble coming up with is the price to build one at the time. Even a rough estimate would be very helpful, as my teacher will not be too strict on this portions. Thank you!
The cost of steamboats depends on many factors. The size of the boat, the quality of the boilers and how ornate the decorations were are three major factors to consider. Most steamboats on the Mississippi river system were in the 200 to 300 foot long range. Ships intended for the smaller tributaries were smaller. The biggest cost variable was the power plant. American built iron boilers varied considerably in their quality. The best power plants were imported from Scotland. They featured steel boilers and precision engineered steam engines. However, thanks to the high tariffs on these devices, only the very best and most expensive steamboats were equipped with Scotch built power plants. Here are two examples. In 1856 the Dubuque Packet Line bought the new ship "Golden State" for $14,000. It was 277 feet long and had iron boilers, built in Pittsburgh PA. The "Golden State" was the biggest steamboat in the Dubuque Packet Line fleet, but she was not considered to be very ornate or luxurious. The "Golden State" only lasted five years, before her boilers exploded. At the other end of the spectrum is the "Natchez VIII". Her captain was also her owner, Thomas Leathers, and he was one of the most celebrated steam boat captains of the era. The "Natchez VIII" was 303 feet long and was far more ornate the "Golden State". She had steel boilers from Glascow and cost a staggering $125,000. The "Natchez VIII" lasted ten years, before being destroyed in a dockside fire in New Orleans.
A book that goes into far more detail is "Steamboats on the Western Rivers : An Economic and Technological History" by Louis Hunter (1949)