Old Boat Column

In 1892, the Howard Shipyard & Dock Company at Jeffersonville, Ind., received a contract for the construction of a centerwheel ferry boat for the Union Ferry Company of New Orleans. Read More

Eagerly awaited by Civil War and steamboat historians, a new DVD entitled “Remember the Sultana” is now available. The 96-minute documentary presents the riveting story of the horrific explosion of… Read More

My hometown of New Albany, Ind., founded in 1813 along the Ohio River, is widely known by river historians as the birthplace of the famous steamboats Eclipse, Robt. E. Lee… Read More

For a contract cost of $40,900, the beautiful sidewheeler Tarascon was constructed on a wooden hull 250 feet in length by 38 feet in width at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1863… Read More

The Rob’t. E. Lee was built at New Albany, Ind., in 1866, at what was known as the lower yard of Dewitt Hill. A wooden-hulled sidewheeler measuring 285 feet in… Read More

Of the many beautiful steamboats owned by the famed Anchor Line, all were sidewheelers save for one. Built at a cost of $36,500 by the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind.,… Read More

Undoubtedly taken from the Eads Bridge, this week’s Old Boat Column image presents a busy scene at St. Louis in 1903. Spread Eagle In the foreground is the steamer Spread… Read More

On January 21, the river fraternity lost one of its most dedicated and notable members with the passing, at age 106, of Mary Ackerman Otte, of Quincy, Ill. She was… Read More

The Mamie S. Barrett was a 1921 product of the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind. Constructed for Oscar F. Barrett, of Cincinnati, on a steel hull measuring 146 feet in… Read More

Happy New Year! We begin the Old Boat Column for 2020 with one of the beautiful steamboats operated by the famous Diamond Jo Line, the steamer Quincy. Built at Dubuque,… Read More