The Congaree River was an important route for travel into the interior of the state until well into the 20th century. Steamboats and barges transported freight and passengers. Some of the steamboats carried sightseers on excursions and moonlight cruises. In this photograph, government dredges help to clear the river channel for boats owned by G.A. Guignard, who operated the Columbia Railway and Navigation Company. The man with his camera equipment visible in this 1913 picture is probably Walter Livingston Blanchard, an important Columbia photographer in the early 20th century.
Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
