She was built as the "Dolphin No. 3" at Jeffersonville, Indiana and was called the "Harry Anderson" for a brief period before receiving the name "Julius Fleischmann." She was owned by the Hatfield Coal Company and towed between the Kanawha River...
The old "Margaret J" is seen from the Milton side of the river. She is pushing the hull of the former ferryboat, "Trimble". The towboat "Inland" is making its way down the river. In the distance, at the far left, can be seen a piling being built...
The Madison-Milton bridge is advancing. It will soon reach the last piling. Notice the bracing and support structures used to reinforce the grid. The "Margaret J" is in the foreground.
Built in 1902 in Dubuque, Iowa, she was the largest towboat ever built. Her early beginnings, however, were rocky. On her maiden voyage she collided with a showboat and only a year later had to have her engines replaced. It was difficult for...
The "Monongahela" was built in 1927 and rebuilt in 1945-1946 when she was converted from coal to an oil burner. In the late 1950s she was partially dismantled. Her remains were sold to a South American firm. She broke away from her tug during...
The showboat, "Water Queen" was once host to, and co-star with, Gloria Swanson during the filming of 'Stage Struck'. The "Water Queen" looks like anything but a movie star while resting along side the levee at Madison, Indiana. She sank at her...
This is the towboat "Miami". Built in 1912 in Cincinnati, she was mostly a contract towboat. She ended her career on the Kanawha River and was dismantled in 1946.
Steamboats; Showboats; Riverboats; "Grace Devers"; Towboats; Tugboats; Levees; Otto Hitner
The "Cotton Blossom" began life in 1896 as a raft for a lumber company working out of St. Paul. She handled the large excursion barge named "Mississippi" at one time, was renamed "The Princess" and was then sold to the Barrett Line for use as a...
