With the spotlight on St. Louis for this week’s eighth annual Inland Marine Expo, the Old Boat Column presents a riverboat that was a favorite of the host city. Never… Read More
Golden Eagle
When Frank Pierson purchased the steamer Mississippi (then a tourist attraction moored opposite Hannibal, Mo.) in early 1966 and brought it to St. Louis to replace his sunken Becky Thatcher,… Read More
The cotton packet Wm. Garig was a petite, wooden-hulled sternwheeler launched at the Howard Shipyard in Jeffersonville, Ind., on Saturday, May 7, 1904, at 3:15 p.m., according to Day Book… Read More
In last week’s Old Boat Column image of the St. Louis riverfront in 1970, one of the vessels prominently in view was the restaurant boat Lt. Robert E. Lee. Originally… Read More
A familiar sight in the St. Louis harbor for nearly seven decades was the steam tug Susie Hazard. Built in 1891 at St. Louis for the Southern Coal, Coke &… Read More
Sixty-two years ago this week (July 4, 1956), the river fraternity mourned the passing of Capt. William H. Leyhe at the age of 83. Affectionately known as “Capt. Buck” to… Read More
As we approach the 25th anniversary of the passing of St. Louis’ beloved river historian, Ruth Ferris (1897–1993), it also marks a five-decade milestone of this writer’s first meeting with… Read More
Built at Stillwater, Minn., for Capt. John Kent in 1897, the sternwheeler Gracie Kent was constructed by George Muller on a wooden hull measuring 111 feet in length by 20… 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
