Old Boat Column

The steamer Fleetwood was built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1866. A sidewheeler with a wooden hull measuring 255 feet in length by 36 feet in width, the big packet was… Read More

One of the large and palatial sidewheelers, the Thompson Dean was built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1872. Constructed on a wooden hull measuring 306 feet in length by 46 feet… Read More

With the spotlight on St. Louis for this week’s eighth annual Inland Marine Expo, the Old Boat Column presents a riverboat that was a favorite of the host city. Never… Read More

When Frank Pierson purchased the steamer Mississippi (then a tourist attraction moored opposite Hannibal, Mo.) in early 1966 and brought it to St. Louis to replace his sunken Becky Thatcher,… Read More

Built at Marietta, Ohio, in 1896, the first steam towboat Catharine Davis had a hull constructed of Oregon fir that was 135 feet long and 26.5 feet wide. The engines,… Read More

The steamer Silver Moon was notably a unique vessel. The boat was designed and built specifically to fit into the short locks of the Louisville & Portland Canal. Constructed in… Read More

The passing of noted and beloved Vicksburg, Miss., historian Gordon Cotton (1936–2021) on March 7 has struck a blow to those who revered Cotton as a Mississippi icon. It was… Read More

With the demise by fire of the Goldenrod Showboat in late 2017, an unsolved question remains concerning the big pilotwheel that was long displayed in the lobby area of the… Read More

The river community is saddened by the recent passing of Shirley Ruck Burwinkle, 91, who served as calliopist on the Str. Belle of Louisville (1966–1970) and was organist for a… Read More

In previous Old Boat Columns throughout the past 10 years, we have presented various large and notably palatial cotton packets, such as the Belle of the Bends that ran on… Read More