Old Boat Column

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

The cotton packet Wm. Garig was a petite, wooden-hulled sternwheeler launched at the Howard Shipyard in Jeffersonville, Ind., on Saturday, May 7, 1904, at 3:15 p.m., according to Day Book… 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

Built by Ward at Charleston, W.Va., in 1926, the towboat E.D. Kenna was constructed for the Ohio River Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, on a steel hull that was 144 feet… Read More

In the glory days of the big steam towboats, one of the best-known ones was the Boaz. Built in 1882, the wooden hull measured 193 feet in length by 44… 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

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… Read More