The marker "Steamboats" is located near the modern day Sanford docks and waterfront. Steamboats began appearing on the St. Johns River around 1840 and reached their peak in the 1870s and 1880s. It was near here that many nineteenth century steamboats docked and provided commercial and transportation links for settlers in the region. These steamboats put Sanford on the map because they were the only commercial connection prior to the arrival of the railroads in the 1880s. The steamboats continued operations with the railroads until 1933, when they connected with railroad lines such as Henry Plant's South Florida Railroad Company.