The Mississippi's first metropolis -- Founding river city -- The riverside village -- Washing away boundaries -- The Wiggins Ferry Company -- The first steamboat -- A world colored by water -- Bloody island -- The mountain men of St. Louis -- Nomads on the levee -- The American Nile -- Lee's plan to tame the Mississippi -- Tourists and entrepreneurs -- The Missouri leviathan -- Digging up the river's graveyard -- When the river brought ruin, part 1 -- When the river brought ruin, part 2 -- Thirteen blocks, a world apart -- Life on a St. Louis steamboat -- "Dreadful explosion and loss of life" -- Mississippi River panoramas -- The levee's new faces -- The big drain -- The ice gorge -- The St. Louis levee, born again -- Over there -- Mark Twain in St. Louis -- Ironclads and floating hospitals -- The Mississippi River's future great city -- "The social evil" -- Rivers beneath St. Louis -- Keeping the taps running -- The Eads Bridge -- The Exodusters -- Leaving the river behind -- The north and south riverfronts -- Drinking the "Mississippi relish" -- The river made beautiful -- Daredevils on the water -- Waves of garbage -- The St. Louis Blues -- Refuge across the river -- Some unexpected guests -- The Streckfus excursion boats -- The bridges of the mother road -- Hooverville -- The riverfront's blank canvas -- Five decks of fun -- St. Louis's future front door -- Building the Gateway Arch -- The Mississippi River Festival -- Saving what remained -- A celebration for all St. Louisans -- The great flood -- The welcome mat -- A new vision for the Gateway Arch

"This book examines the importance of the Mississippi River across time and through the lens of a single city: St. Louis. Features hundreds of maps, artifacts, and fascinating historic images, spanning back to St. Louis's founding and even earlier"--