Texas (steamboat)

The texas, in

History

A steamboat's texas is named in honor of the state of Texas. This innovation in steamboat construction was introduced about the same time that the state of Texas became part of the United States in 1845.^[2]

In this period, steamboat cabins were conventionally named after states and the officers' quarters were the largest. This structure housing the largest cabins was identified with Texas, which was then the largest state.^[3][4]

Usage

The term became widely known after the publication of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. In the section in which Huck and Jim encounter a wrecked steamboat:

"... there ain't nothing to watch but the texas and the pilot-house; and do you reckon anybody's going to resk his life for a texas and a pilot-house such a night as this, when it's likely to break up and wash off down the river any minute?" Jim couldn't say nothing to that, so he didn't try.

— Mark Twain, The Annotated Huckleberry Finn : Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's comrade)^[5]

Variations

On the Great Lakes, lake freighters have deck houses at the bow and stern with cargo holds in the center. For those, the texas refers to the layer of the deck house that is just below the wheel house / bridge.^[6]

References