The City Of Baton Rouge
The ferry City of Baton Rouge is one of only a half dozen remaining riverboats built by the famed Howard Shipyard & Dock Company at Jeffersonville, Ind.
It was constructed in 1916—for a contract cost of $22,000—on a steel catamaran hull that measured 115.2 feet in length, 28 feet in width and a depth of 7.2 feet. One boiler supplied steam to Gillett & Eaton engines having 12-inch cylinders with a 5-foot stroke. The contract for the engines specified that they possess adequate power to make a seven-minute crossing between the two Lower Mississippi River landings of Baton Rouge and Port Allen, La.
Owned by the Baton Rouge Transportation Company, the vessel had a capacity for 500 passengers and 21 cars. The City of Baton Rouge faithfully provided daily ferry service for 52 years until the opening of a new highway bridge retired the riverboat.
By November 1968, the steamboat had been purchased by Capt. Dennis Trone and moved to Dubuque, Iowa. Trone was building a new steamboat for the excursion business and skillfully recycled the engines, paddlewheel shaft and other equipment for use aboard the Julia Belle Swain, which began service in 1971. The City of Baton Rouge was remodeled to function as a wharfboat for the Julia Belle, which initially operated at Peoria, Ill. A ticket office, large kitchen and food storage area were constructed in the area formerly occupied by the center paddlewheel housing; the remainder of the spacious main deck became a passenger waiting area. The upstairs deck space was divided into small rooms to house crew members.
On August 9, 1980, a severe storm with tornadic winds struck the Peoria riverfront, tearing off and destroying the pilothouse of the City of Baton Rouge. Fortunately, the three original nameboards were salvaged. In 1987, the Trone fleet, composed of the Julia Belle Swain, City of Baton Rouge and Twilight, were towed down the Illinois River and up the Mississippi to Le Claire, Iowa, a journey of nearly 435 river miles that took three full days and nights.
The second deck of the ferry boat was remodeled to resemble the cabin of a packet boat when the vessel was used in the 1980 movie “Life on the Mississippi,” starring Robert Lansing as Capt. Howard Bixby and David Knell as young Samuel Clemens.
Today, the City of Baton Rouge is owned by Capt. Kevin and Carrie Stier and faithfully serves as the wharfboat for the popular Riverboat Twilight at Le Claire. Further information on the boat and a schedule of cruises is available at info@riverboattwilight.com.
A gala centennial celebration in 2016 featured a rechristening by river historian Judy Patsch. Historical presentations were made and an excellent scale model of the boat was presented to the Stiers by St. Louis model builder Tom Keller.
Howard Museum News
The Howard Steamboat Museum, at Jeffersonville, Ind., is regularly open for tours and the latest issue of the online newsletter, edited by director-curator Travis Vasconcelos, is now available at Howardsteamboatmuseum.org.
Caption for top photo (click on photo for full image): The City Of Baton Rouge on drydock in 1958. (Keith Norrington collection)
Editor’s note: For questions or suggestions regarding the Old Boat Column, Keith Norrington may be contacted by e-mail at curatorkeith@yahoo.com.
