River travel was the least expensive and usually the smoothest. The cost of a ticket from Bristol to Philadelphia was about $0.20. In this circa 1910 image, is the Bristol (originally named the Soo), one of the popular steamboats. In 1818, another small steamboat also named Bristol ran for three season between Philadelphia and the town of Bristol, but it was destroyed by fire. Other contemporary steamboats were the Thomas Morgan, Twilight, and Columbia.