This week’s main image is one of my favorite Southern steamboat pictures. The Charles H. Organ was built in 1897, at Dubuque, Iowa, for the West Memphis Ferry… 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.
The recent destruction on the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Ida brings to mind a “ferry tale” of 56 years ago. In 1892, the Howard Shipyard & Dock Company… Read More
Built by the Axton yard at Brownsville, Pa., in 1895, the sturdy sternwheel towboat Tornado was constructed, to specifications drawn by J.M. Hammitt, on a wooden hull that measured… Read More
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… 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… 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… 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… 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… 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… Read More
