Historical Marker

Steamboat Inventor

First burial place of John Fitch. Reinterred, 1927, in Court Square. Born Conn., 1743. Appointed Lt. of N.J. Co., lst Reg. in Revolutionary War. Named Ky. deputy surveyor, 1780. Acquired 1,600 acres. Established home here in 1782. Conceived idea of steamboat 1785; built small one, 1786. Demonstrated larger one on Delaware River before framers of US Constitution, 1787.

Reverse

Steamboat Inventor - In Oct., 1788, he built boat which carried passengers on 20-mile trip from Philadelphia to Burlington. In 1790 constructed boat which ran regular schedule between those cities. On Aug. 26, 1791, patent granted to Fitch by US Congress. France also granted patent, 1791. Returned here, 1796, died in 1798. Robert Fulton developed his boat, The Clermont, in 1807. Erected in 1966.