This week, the Old Boat Column presents an action-packed image; it was taken at the Davis Island Lock and Dam, the first such structure on the Ohio River. The… Read More
Author: Keith Norrington
Regarded as one of the most beautiful steamboats afloat, the Virginia made big news 109 years ago when it wandered out of the flooding Ohio River on the night… Read More
Built for the Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Line, the Keystone State was constructed at Harmar, Ohio in 1890. The wooden hull of the sternwheeler measured 225 feet… Read More
Built at Louisville, Ky., in 1857, the large sidewheeler Red Rover ran in the Nashville–New Orleans packet trade. Constructed on a wooden hull that measured 256 feet in length… Read More
According to riverman-historian Capt. Fred Way (1901–1992), the steamer Tacoma holds the record for being the longest-living packet boat to remain in operation without a name change or alteration… Read More
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll! With Mardi Gras being celebrated in New Orleans tomorrow (March 5) you can be sure that a festive atmosphere pervades… Read More
This week, the Old Boat Column presents an image that is a recent acquisition to this curator’s collection. The first of two successively-built sidewheelers named Bonanza, the steamboat… Read More
Named for the mayor of Little Rock, Ark., the J.A. Woodson was built at Louisville, Ky., in 1881. According to the U.S. List of Merchant Vessels, the boat… Read More
The sternwheeler Joe Fowler was built at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Howard Shipyard in 1888 for the Fowler family. Built at a contract cost of $20,800, it was… Read More
It is often mentioned in this column that many steamboats utilized engines, boilers and other machinery that had seen service on a previous vessel. This week, we present the… Read More
