Originally a rafter, the Silver Crescent was built at Clinton, Iowa, in 1882. Constructed on a wooden hull that measured 123.3 feet in length by 22.9 feet in width, the… 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 sternwheeler Argosy was built in 1864. A notification of the new boat appeared in a Pittsburgh newspaper on November 30: “This is the third boat of the name, the… Read More
Nearly six decades ago today, on March 26, 1959, the 318-foot long steamer Sprague embarked on a journey from Vicksburg, Miss. The retired riverboat became a tourist attraction in 1948,… Read More
In last week’s Old Boat Column, we recounted the 1903 shoving contest between the sternwheeler D.T. Lane (first) and the propeller towboat James Rumsey. The D.T. Lane (1871–1908) towed coal… Read More
In 1903, the Charles Ward Engineering Company of Charleston, W.Va., constructed a twin-propeller steam towboat named James Rumsey for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wheeling, W.Va. Built on… Read More
Built by the Knox yard at Harmar (Marietta), Ohio, in 1877, this slender sternwheeler was constructed on a wooden hull measuring 132 feet in length by 21 feet in width. Read More
With the WJ’s “View from the wheelhouse” special issue this week, the Old Boat Column is featuring a unique pilothouse vignette. Seven decades ago, following the May 1947 sinking of… Read More
Built by the Sweeney yard at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1910, the Gregory was completed in nine months for a cost of $16,915. Reportedly, the cost of outfitting for the towboat… Read More
This week’s Old Boat Column features an image taken nearly 120 years ago. All three of the steamboats lying at the Clarksville wharf had the distinction of being constructed by… Read More
Remains of the City of Cincinnati. Visible at the bow is the pilothouse from the wrecked sternwheeler Loucinda. (Keith Norrington collection) After observing the centennial of the 1918 Ohio River ice… Read More
