This week’s Old Boat Column features an image taken nearly 120 years ago. All three of the steamboats lying at the Clarksville wharf had the distinction of being constructed by… 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.
Remains of the City of Cincinnati. Visible at the bow is the pilothouse from the wrecked sternwheeler Loucinda. (Keith Norrington collection) After observing the centennial of the 1918 Ohio River ice… Read More
With much of the nation in winter’s icy grip, it seems appropriate for the Old Boat Column to observe the centennial of the great Ohio River ice gorge. Unlike the… Read More
The Volcano was built at Dravosburg, Pa., in 1916. Constructed on a wooden hull that measured 126.5 in length by 25.8 feet in width, the towboat was owned by the… Read More
For a contract cost of $40,900, the beautiful sidewheeler Tarascon was constructed on a wooden hull (250 feet in length by 38 feet in width) at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1863… Read More
The sternwheel packet Ben Hur was built by the Knox Boat Yard at Harmar (Marietta), Ohio, in 1887, the same year as the founding of The Waterways Journal. Constructed on… Read More
The W.P. Snyder Jr. in the Pittsburgh harbor. (Keith Norrington collection) Happy New Year! One of the major milestones of river history for 2018 will be the 100th birthday observance of… Read More
On this Christmas Day, we conclude the Old Boat Column for 2017 with a steamboat that took its name from the star of Bethlehem. The Guiding Star, a wooden-hulled sidewheeler… Read More
There were two towboats named Control. The first, built in 1904 by the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., was constructed on a wooden hull measuring 118 feet in length by… Read More
Built at Brownsville, Pa., by the Axton yard in 1895, the towboat Tornado was constructed, to specifications drawn by J.M. Hammitt, on a wooden hull that measured 150 feet in… Read More
