Old Boat Column

Originally named Irene D, this former rafter was built in 1888 at Rock Island, Ill. It was constructed on a wooden hull that measured 133.5 feet in length by 29.6… Read More

Now that the beloved Delta Queen has received its long-awaited exemption and is well on the way to again traversing the rivers in the foreseeable future, the Old Boat Column… Read More

In the early spring of 1961, the retired steam towboat George M. Verity became a museum at Keokuk, Iowa. The sternwheeler was floated into a basin and placed upon a… Read More

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