The Knox Never Had Another Name
As mentioned before in this column, the Kosmos Portland Cement Company was formed in the first decade of the 20th century and established two company towns on the Ohio River below Louisville, Ky. One, named Kosmosdale, was at the mill just above the mouth of Salt River, and the other, called Oolite, was 35 miles downstream near the rock quarry. As the company grew, it not only had rock delivered to the mill from the quarry but also began delivering cement by barge and even engaged in general towing.
Beginning in 1922, Kosmos started a long-term relationship with the Nashville Bridge Company and would have many towboats built there over the years, in addition to purchasing some used vessels that had been built by Nashville. When the disastrous flood of early 1937 struck, the Kosmos fleet consisted of six diesel prop boats and one aging steam sternwheel vessel. Later in 1937, the company took delivery of a new towboat, built by Nashville.
All the Kosmos boats were given names that began with the letter “K.” This new boat, named the Knox, was no exception. It had a steel hull that measured 70 by 19 feet and was single screw, powered by a 6-cylinder direct reversing Atlas Imperial diesel of 275 hp. The boat had a single main cabin, with the area below the handrails painted a dark color, possibly black or dark green. A large pilothouse with multi-pane windows was above that, situated toward the front of the second deck. A single straight smokestack, rising from about midway of the upper deck, was black with a large white “K” on each side.
The Knox was engaged in towing the Kosmos rock and cement, as well as other commodities. According to a history of the company by David L. Baker, on November 10, 1938, the Knox was upbound out of Owensboro, Ky., with a tow of five crude oil loads and had been tied off in fog near Concordia, Ky., when one of the barges in tow exploded. The Knox suffered only minor damage, but no trace was ever found of Ed Nowlin, the 25-year-old pilot who was on the tow at the time.
In 1957, the Knox was sold to James R. Hines & Co., Bowling Green, Ky. It was then a fixture on the Ohio, Green and Barren rivers, towing petroleum products and occasionally other cargos. The “K” on the stack was replaced by an “H,” and the dark band on the lower cabin became a lighter gray color. Otherwise, little changed in the appearance of the trim little craft. In time, the multi-pane pilothouse windows were replaced by more modern double sash windows, and, in 1962, the vessel was repowered. The original Atlas engine was replaced by tandem GM 6-110 engines (twin engines coupled to a common gear box) providing 440 hp.
In January 1970, the Knox was sold to River Equipment Company, St. Louis, and almost immediately resold to Walker’s Fuel & Service Company, Paducah, Ky. It became a familiar sight in the Paducah area, where it performed tow work and handled mid-stream fuel barges. In 1973, it was again repowered, this time with a GM 12V-149 engine and Twin Disc 5.18:1 gears that gave the boat 675 hp. In 1984, the Knox was transferred to Hartley Marine Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, but still operated by Walker. In 1993, it was sold to James Marine Inc. of Paducah.
The Knox was last listed in the 1995 50th anniversary edition of the Inland River Record and was shown in the Off The Record section of the 1996 book as having been sold in February 1995 to Phil Joiner of Paducah for dismantling. It seems that the dismantled boat eventually went to Parkersburg, W.Va., and this writer later saw it included in a downbound menagerie at Ashland, Ky., that was purportedly headed for the Tennessee River. If anyone knows the final disposition of the Knox, which operated nearly 60 years without a name change, please let us know.
Many thanks to Barry Griffith for some of the details about the Knox, as he was quite familiar with it during the Hines ownership.
2025 Gas & Diesel Sternwheel Towboat Calendar
Steve Huffman of Draftware Inc. has announced the publishing of the 2025 Gas & Diesel Sternwheel Towboat Calendar. Proceeds from the calendar sales will support the compilation of a directory of such craft built between 1891 and 1955, as well as a section to deal with more contemporary vessels. Huffman has become an authority on these vessels and has been a great help in providing photos and details for some of the boats that have been featured in this column.
The cost of the calendar is $15.95 plus $4.50 shipping and handling. It can be obtained by contacting Draftware Inc., 41 Ems W32, North Webster, IN 46555, or through the website www.draftware.com/calendar.
