The Old Boat Column this week presents a steamboat named for a renowned river city. Known internationally as a quaint Southern town with a rich culture, the little river town… 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.
Recent acquisitions to the writer’s collection of regional river memorabilia are a post card and freight bill from the steamer Falls City. Built in 1898 at Cincinnati for the Kentucky… Read More
Before the grand opening of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, spanning the Ohio River between Louisville, Ky., and Jeffersonville, Ind., numerous ferries were in operation over many decades. The… Read More
Originally named Mary S. Blees, the handsome sternwheeler Piasa was built in 1899 at Mobile, Ala., on a wooden hull that measured 170 feet in length by 34 feet in… Read More
Named for the daughter of a Cincinnati furniture manufacturer, the sidewheel packet Emma Duncan was built in 1860 at Pittsburgh. Constructed on a wood hull measuring 180 feet in length… Read More
The American Bridge Company at Ambridge, Pa., constructed, in 1927, a steel hull measuring 169.8 feet long, 38.9 feet wide and having a depth of 6.5 feet for the Carnegie… Read More
The Old Boat Column this week presents two versions of a vintage view of the riverfront at New Albany, Ind., the writer’s historic hometown. Published as night and day post… Read More
Named for an iron industrialist at Nashville, Tenn., and owned by the Ryman Line, the handsome sternwheeler J.P. Drouillard was a product of the famous Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind. Read More
This week’s Old Boat Column presents an image with a common factor. Taken in the 1880s, all three steamboats lying at the Clarksville, Tenn., wharf had the proud distinction of… Read More
The river community recently observed the 20th anniversary of the untimely passing (age 63) of Capt. John Hartford. Born in St. Louis in 1937, Harford (original spelling) attended the Community… Read More
