Strategically situated between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, Calhoun County, Ill., is a narrow peninsula that was organized in 1825. Today the region can be accessed by crossing the Illinois… Read More
Old Boat Column
A look back into the rich history of the inland waterways transportation industry. From the earliest steam paddlewheelers to the grand sternwheel and sidewheel packets, and the eventual transition from steam to diesel, you’ll find fascinating stories and photos of a different steamboat every week.
Capt. J.T. Hatfield, who long was in charge of the Hickey Transportation Company at Covington, Ky., had the honor of having two towboats named for him. The first vessel was… Read More
Built by Ward at Charleston, W.Va., in 1926, the towboat E.D. Kenna was constructed for the Ohio River Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, on a steel hull that was 144 feet… Read More
In the glory days of the big steam towboats, one of the best-known ones was the Boaz. Built in 1882, the wooden hull measured 193 feet in length by 44… Read More
In 1894, as the Howard family prepared to occupy their newly completed 22-room riverside mansion at Jeffersonville, Ind., the shipyard built the towboat Fritz, named for Capt. Fritz Mentor. The… Read More
The ferry City of Baton Rouge is one of only a half dozen remaining riverboats built by the famed Howard Shipyard & Dock Company at Jeffersonville, Ind. It was constructed… Read More
By Keith Norrington Reportedly one of the hardest-working riverboats in the Southeast, the extant snagboat Montgomery was constructed for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers by the Charleston Dry Dock… Read More
In a 1970 interview with a St. Louis-Post Dispatch reporter, well known educator, river historian and museum curator Ruth Ferris (1897–1993) said that the most rewarding aspect of her lengthy… Read More
For 1864, the daybook records for the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., list only contracts for the construction of a wharfboat for the Louisville & Cincinnati Mail Line and three… Read More
A recent acquisition to the writer’s collection is this week’s Old Boat Column image of the packet James Howard alongside a wharfboat at the St. Louis levee. In 1870, Capt. Read More
