Throughout the years there have been many types of vessels converted into river towboats, but likely few as odd as the two detailed in this column. Built for the U.S. Read More
Old Boat Column
A look back into the rich history of the inland waterways transportation industry. From the earliest steam paddlewheelers to the grand sternwheel and sidewheel packets, and the eventual transition from steam to diesel, you’ll find fascinating stories and photos of a different steamboat every week.
The last installment of the Old Boat Column ended with the tramp excursion steamer Avalon awaiting its fate after the owners had declared bankruptcy. Advertisements indicated that the aging vessel… Read More
The previous installment of the Old Boat Column introduced the steamer Idlewild, built in Pittsburgh in 1914 by the James Rees & Sons Company for the West Memphis Packet Company. Read More
The James Rees and Sons Company of Pittsburgh began building river craft in the late 1870s. They turned out a wide range of vessels including packets, towboats, snag boats and… Read More
The Howards of Jeffersonville, Ind., were known for the beautiful wooden packets they started building in 1834. By the turn of the century, they had created some of the most… Read More
In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court judged Standard Oil Company to be a monopoly and ordered it to be broken up into 34 separate companies. One of these was the… Read More
In the July 29 issue of The Waterways Journal, this column detailed the Ductillite, which was the first of a series of three towboats of a radical new design that… Read More
The Dravo Contracting Company of Pittsburgh dated back to 1890 and was involved in industrial construction. About 1917, the firm began building floating marine equipment and towboats at a Neville… Read More
With the recent passing of river historian Gerald “Jerry” Sutphin of Huntington, W.Va., the book he co-authored with Richard Andre in 1991, “Sternwheelers On The Great Kanawha River,” came to… Read More
One of the oddest towboats ever to grace the Mississippi River system was a vessel named Pioneer. Not the Dravo-built, single screw of 1934 (The Waterways Journal, March 23, 2022)… Read More
