Booth & Battelle Steamboat Agents Civil War Era Wharfboat at Wheeling

Civil War Booth Battelle & Company Steamboat Agents Wharfboat Model by John Bowman.
The Booth Battelle & Company Steamboat Agents wharf boat with coal barge on display at West Virginia Independence Hall, Wheeling, West Virginia.
This wharf boat sitting at Wheeling’s wharf, served Wheeling, Virginia (West Virginia) throughout the Civil War years.
What was or is a “Wharf Boat”? If you wanted to mail a letter or package, you took it to the Post Office. If you wanted to send a package by train, you took it to the Rail Road Depot. If you wanted to send an item by a riverboat, you took it to the Wharf Boat where it was assigned to the next steamboat heading to that destination.