sternwheeler

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

Three steam towboats were built at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1911 for the Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. All were constructed on steel hulls measuring 137.6… Read More

Strategically situated between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, Calhoun County, Ill., is a narrow peninsula that was organized in 1825. Today the region can be accessed by crossing the Illinois… Read More

Capt. J.T. Hatfield, who long was in charge of the Hickey Transportation Company at Covington, Ky., had the honor of having two towboats named for him. The first vessel was… 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

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

By Keith Norrington Reportedly one of the hardest-working riverboats in the Southeast, the extant snagboat Montgomery was constructed for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers by the Charleston Dry Dock… Read More

One of the best known and most revered steamboats of all time was the cotton packet America, owned and operated by Capt. LeVerrier (“L.V.”) Cooley. A trim steamboat with beautiful… Read More

This week, the Old Boat Column steps back five decades to August 1970. Prominently in the foreground of this aerial view of St. Louis is the sternwheel dredge Sainte Genevieve,… Read More