Built in 1879 for the Missouri River trade, the Montana was a packet with a wooden hull measuring 250 feet in length by 48.8 feet in width. Displacing 959 tons,… 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.
Third in a line of government steamboats to carry the name, the Mississippi had a unique beginning. A new steel hull, built by the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., in… Read More
This week, the Old Boat Column presents a recently-acquired image of the steamboat Dubuque. This large sternwheeler was originally known as the packet Pittsburgh. Built in 1879 by the Cincinnati… Read More
Several steamboats carried the name of Alton, paying tribute to the Illinois city on the Upper Mississippi River above St. Louis. Undoubtedly the best known and most attractive riverboat to… Read More
Built in 1913 at Santa Rosa, Fla., the unique sidewheeler Julia Belle Swain was originally the Charles E. Cessna, named for a Chicago physician. The riverboat was designed to run… Read More
Built at Evansville, Ind., in 1879, the John R. Hugo was originally listed as a towboat. The wood hull was only 82.6 feet in length by 20 feet in width. Read More
Built in 1887 for a contract cost of $5,800, the packet Matt F. Allen was a product of the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind. Constructed on a wooden hull measuring… Read More
Taken 80 years ago, this week’s image for the Old Boat Column features the sidewheeler President. Originally built in 1924 for the Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Company as the Cincinnati,… Read More
Early September was typically the time when excursion boats began winding down the season. Undoubtedly, the most famous of firms that operated excursion vessels was Streckfus Steamers, of St. Louis… Read More
Originally the pleasure steamboat Minnesota, this petite sternwheeler was a product of the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind. In the autumn of 1915, Edmonds J. Howard, proprietor of the famed… Read More
