Old Boat Column

This week, we visit Vicksburg, Miss., with two vintage views, taken in 1906. One can almost vicariously experience the sights, smells and sounds of the bustling waterfront. At the left… Read More

Originally named Annie M, this sternwheel towboat was built in 1888 at Gadsden, Ala., by A.J. Sweeney & Son. Constructed on a wooden hull that measured 122 feet in length… Read More

Capt. Jim Howard, with his trusty glass plate negative camera (now exhibited at the Howard Steamboat Museum) took this week’s Old Boat Column image, as the towboat Lookout was being… Read More

On the weekend of September 14–15, members and friends of the Sons & Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen (S&D) will gather by the rivers at the historic river city of Marietta,… Read More

This week, the Old Boat Column presents a picture of two rather obscure riverboats, the City Belle and the Calypso. Until 1961, the image was believed to have been taken… Read More

In the heyday of excursion steamboating, this time of year was the peak season for the riverboats to prowl the inland waterways, offering daytime cruises as well as “moonlites,” with… Read More

By the 1930s the last remaining riverboats to carry freight and passengers were beginning to fade from the scene. This week, the Old Boat Column presents a colorized vintage view… Read More

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 of the… Read More

For many decades, the Massengale family operated the St. Louis & Tennessee River Packet Company. Capt. John Massengale, a native of Gainesboro, Ga., moved to Nashville, Tenn., obtaining a job… Read More