Old Boat Column

Slightly over nine decades ago, on July 24, 1928, the old river tradition of steamboat racing was revived at Cincinnati, Ohio. Tens of thousands of cheering spectators lined the banks… Read More

The Mozena Brothers’ boat yard, owned by Marshall and Henry Mozena at Clarington, Ohio, was well-known for constructing many of the most successful sternwheel packets operating on the Ohio River.The… Read More

The Old Boat Column this week presents a steamboat named for a renowned river city. Known internationally as a quaint Southern town with a rich culture, the little river town… Read More

Recent acquisitions to the writer’s collection of regional river memorabilia are a post card and freight bill from the steamer Falls City. Built in 1898 at Cincinnati for the Kentucky… Read More

Before the grand opening of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, spanning the Ohio River between Louisville, Ky., and Jeffersonville, Ind., numerous ferries were in operation over many decades. The… Read More

Originally named Mary S. Blees, the handsome sternwheeler Piasa was built in 1899 at Mobile, Ala., on a wooden hull that measured 170 feet in length by 34 feet in… Read More

Named for the daughter of a Cincinnati furniture manufacturer, the sidewheel packet Emma Duncan was built in 1860 at Pittsburgh. Constructed on a wood hull measuring 180 feet in length… Read More

The American Bridge Company at Ambridge, Pa., constructed, in 1927, a steel hull measuring 169.8 feet long, 38.9 feet wide and having a depth of 6.5 feet for the Carnegie… Read More

The Old Boat Column this week presents two versions of a vintage view of the riverfront at New Albany, Ind., the writer’s historic hometown. Published as night and day post… Read More

Named for an iron industrialist at Nashville, Tenn., and owned by the Ryman Line, the handsome sternwheeler J.P. Drouillard was a product of the famous Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind. Read More