Old Boat Column

Built at New Albany, Ind., in 1861, the wooden-hulled packet Louisville measured 220 feet in length by 38 feet in width. Five boilers suppled steam to engines (recycled from the… Read More

This week, the Old Boat Column presents an action-packed image; it was taken at the Davis Island Lock and Dam, the first such structure on the Ohio River. The viewer… Read More

Regarded as one of the most beautiful steamboats afloat, the Virginia made big news 109 years ago when it wandered out of the flooding Ohio River on the night of… Read More

Built for the Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Line, the Keystone State was constructed at Harmar, Ohio in 1890. The wooden hull of the sternwheeler measured 225 feet in length by… Read More

Built at Louisville, Ky., in 1857, the large sidewheeler Red Rover ran in the Nashville–New Orleans packet trade. Constructed on a wooden hull that measured 256 feet in length by… Read More

According to riverman-historian Capt. Fred Way (1901–1992), the steamer Tacoma holds the record for being the longest-living packet boat to remain in operation without a name change or alteration in… Read More

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll! With Mardi Gras being celebrated in New Orleans tomorrow (March 5) you can be sure that a festive atmosphere pervades… Read More

This week, the Old Boat Column presents an image that is a recent acquisition to this curator’s collection. The first of two successively-built sidewheelers named Bonanza, the steamboat was built… Read More

Named for the mayor of Little Rock, Ark., the J.A. Woodson was built at Louisville, Ky., in 1881. According to the U.S. List of Merchant Vessels, the boat was constructed… Read More

The sternwheeler Joe Fowler was built at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Howard Shipyard in 1888 for the Fowler family. Built at a contract cost of $20,800, it was designed to… Read More