On March 25, 1882, shortly after departing Vicksburg, Miss., the towboat Iron Mountain struck an underwater obstruction and sank near Island 102 on the Lower Mississippi River. The entire crew… Read More
steamboat
Happy New Year! We begin the Old Boat Column for 2021 with a steamboat that took its name from the star of Bethlehem. The Guiding Star, a wood-hulled sidewheeler that… Read More
Merry Christmas! As previously presented in the Old Boat Column, one of the most famous excursion boat companies was Streckfus Steamers, widely known on the river system for its fleet… Read More
In 1883, for a contract price of $16,750, the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., built the Benton McMillin, a modest packet boat named in honor of the Tennessee congressman, who… 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
For the first time in 61 years, the excursion steamboat Belle of Louisville traveled up the Ohio River as far as Gallipolis, Ohio, for its every-five-year Coast Guard inspection and… Read More
Built by Ward at Charleston, W.Va., in 1926, the towboat E.D. Kenna was constructed for the Ohio River Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, on a steel hull that was 144 feet… Read More
In 1894, as the Howard family prepared to occupy their newly completed 22-room riverside mansion at Jeffersonville, Ind., the shipyard built the towboat Fritz, named for Capt. Fritz Mentor. The… Read More
For 1864, the daybook records for the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., list only contracts for the construction of a wharfboat for the Louisville & Cincinnati Mail Line and three… Read More
A recent acquisition to the writer’s collection is this week’s Old Boat Column image of the packet James Howard alongside a wharfboat at the St. Louis levee. In 1870, Capt. Read More
