Before railroads and highway systems, the waterways were primary means of transportation meaning river or canal cities like Cincinnati and Buffalo were of more importance than they are today.
I know; I was kidding. Having been to Buffalo (and several other rust-belt cities in the northeast), you can understand how critical they were to the manufacturing that made this country a superpower a century ago. I’m probably a dozen miles south of the Paterson falls here in NJ, where Samuel Colt manufactured guns. Today there is little left to indicate the impact these places had on the growth of our country.