The last column was inspired by a near century old pay ledger that had been repurposed into a scrapbook by riverman Palmer Fisher, a friend of many years to… Read More
Mississippi Valley Barge Line
This is another column that was prompted by recent photos. These shots were of a towboat, resplendent in a coat of fresh summer paint, with closeups showing the vessel looking… Read More
The August 6, 1938 issue of The Waterways Journal carried a small story on page 5 concerning A.C. Ingersoll accepting a position with a new company on the Illinois… Read More
Charles F. Richardson, president of West Kentucky Coal Company. (Photo from Leahy’s ‘Who’s Who on the Ohio River,’ 1931 – D.Smith collection) In 1921, the Eichleay Contracting Company,… Read More
It seems hard to believe it will be 37 years ago—December 19, 1985—that the towboat L. Wade Childress tuned turtle (sinking) at Ft Madison, Iowa., in 30 feet of… Read More
News that Amherst Madison had recently purchased the Michael J. Grainger and would rename it Ohio brings to mind other vessels named Ohio on the inland rivers. Most… Read More
The Dravo Contracting Company experimented in building a steam prop towboat in 1919 that it named Peace. Following the construction of this vessel, the company built mainly sternwheel vessels,… Read More
