The Steamer President

September 16, 2019

Taken 80 years ago, this week’s image for the Old Boat Column features the sidewheeler President. Originally built in 1924 for the Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Company as the Cincinnati,… Read More

Paddlewheeler Postlude

September 9, 2019

Early September was typically the time when excursion boats began winding down the season. Undoubtedly, the most famous of firms that operated excursion vessels was Streckfus Steamers, of St. Louis… Read More

The Des Arc

June 28, 2019

One of three steamboats to carry the name, the Des Arc was built at Paducah, Ky., in 1862. Records state that the wooden hull (205 feet in length by 31… Read More

The Emma Duncan

June 10, 2019

Named for the daughter of a Cincinnati furniture manufacturer, the sidewheel packet Emma Duncan was built in 1860 at Pittsburgh. Constructed on a wooden hull measuring 180 feet in length… Read More

Packet To Gunboat

April 17, 2019

Built at New Albany, Ind., in 1861, the wooden-hulled packet Louisville measured 220 feet in length by 38 feet in width. Five boilers suppled steam to engines (recycled from the… Read More