Largest Cities in the U.S., 1850
In 1850, the United States' urban system was connected together by inland water
transportation--specially-built canals and navigable rivers or lakes.
Nodes (cities) on the national system were
linked with their surrounding hinterlands by regional railway systems
that employed iron rails and had a variety of different gauges.
1. New York NY 696,115
2. Baltimore MD 169,054
3.Boston MA 136,881
4. Philadelphia PA 121,376
5. New Orleans LA 116,375
6. Cincinnati OH 115,435
7. Saint Louis MO 77,860
8. Albany NY 50,763
9. Pittsburgh PA 46,601
10. Louisville KY 43,194
11. Charleston SC 42,985
12. Buffalo NY 42,261
13. Providence RI 41,513
14. Washington DC 40,001
15. Rochester NY 36,403
16. San Francisco 34,776
17. Lowell MA 33,383
18. Chicago IL 29,963
19. Richmond VA 27,570
20. Syracuse NY 22,271
21. Detroit MI 21,019
22. Portland ME 20,815
23. Mobile AL 20,515
24. New Haven CT 20,345
25. Milwaukee WI 20,061
26. Columbus OH 17,882
27. Utica NY 17,565
28. Worcester MA 17,049
29. Cleveland OH 17,034
30. New Bedford MA 16,443
31. Reading PA 15,743
32. Savannah GA 15,312
33. Norfolk VA 14,326
34. Wilmington DE 13,979
35. Manchester NH 13,932
36. Hartford CT 13,555
37. Lancaster PA 12,369
38. Springfield MA 11,766
39. Fall River MA 11,524
New York had surged ahead of Baltimore with construction of the Erie Canal
in 1825, and in 1850 had far better accessibility to the interior of the country than any other
East Coast port. Boston had relatively poor connections.
Other cities benefitted from good accessibility on the nation's
inland water system. Notable in this respect are New Orleans, Cincinnati,
St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Louisville.
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Last Revised: October 11, 1996