What is the oldest steamboat still operating on the Mississippi?
178690#46
The "Belle of Louisville" is the oldest operating steamboat in the United States, and the oldest operating Mississippi River-style steamboat in the world. She was laid down as "Idlewild" in 1914, and is currently located in Louisville, Ky.
Steamboat
334071#24
The "Belle of Louisville" is the oldest operating Mississippi River-style steamboat and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Previously named the "Idlewild" and "Avalon", the "Belle" is based in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
Paddle steamer
178690#47
Five major commercial steamboats currently operate on the inland waterways of the United States. The only remaining overnight cruising steamboat is the 432 passenger "American Queen", which operates week-long cruises on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers 11 months out of the year. The others are day boats: they are the steamers "Chautauqua Belle" at Chautauqua Lake, New York, "Minne Ha-Ha" at Lake George, NY, operating on Lake George; the "Belle of Louisville" in Louisville, Kentucky, operating on the Ohio River; and the "Natchez" in New Orleans, Louisiana, operating on the Mississippi River. For modern craft operated on rivers, see the Riverboat article.
Steamboat
178690#69
Built in 1856, PS "Skibladner" is the oldest steamship still in operation, serving towns along lake Mjøsa in Norway.
Steamboat
12084927#6
"River Queen" was still operating in 1910 on the Potomac River, by that time among the oldest side-wheelers still in service. In July 1911, newspapers reported the burning of the "River Queen" "to the water's edge" following the explosion of a signal lantern on board. The press reported that "For the past year or two the "River Queen" has been used as an excursion boat for Negroes."
River Queen (steamboat)
15912690#0
The Mississippi Queen was the second-largest paddle wheel driven river steamboat ever built, second only to the larger "American Queen". The ship was the largest such steamboat when she was built in 1976 by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company at Jeffboat in Indiana and was a seven-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat. She was later owned by the Majestic America Line. The "Mississippi Queen" had 206 state rooms for a capacity of 412 guests and a crew of 157. It was 116 meters (382 ft) long, 21 meters (68 ft) wide, and displaces 3,709 metric tonnes (3,364 tons).
Mississippi Queen (steamboat)
14881496#1
The Rogue River meets the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach, and flows all the way from the Cascade Mountains. R. D. Hume was a pioneering businessman at Wedderburn and Gold Beach, then known as Ellensburg. By 1881, he had established a fish cannery and built a steam schooner, "Mary D. Hume", to support the cannery operation. Hume was still conducting steamboat operations on the Rogue River in 1901, and in that year, Capt. E.D. Burns built the sternwheel steamboat "Rogue River" in Portland, and brought her down the coast to compete against Hume's operation. "Mary D. Hume" passed through several owners and was still in operation as late as 1939, when she was the oldest commercial vessel in service in the Pacific Northwest.
Steamboats of the Oregon Coast
18597120#57
The ninth and current "Natchez", the "Str. Natchez", is a sternwheel steamboat based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Built in 1975, she is sometimes referred to as the "Natchez IX". She is operated by the New Orleans Steamboat Company and docks at the Toulouse Street Wharf. Day trips include harbor and dinner cruises along the Mississippi River.
It is modeled not after the original "Natchez", but instead by the steamboats "Hudson" and "Virginia". Its steam engines were originally built in 1925 for the steamboat "Clairton", from which the steering system and paddlewheel shaft also came. From the S.S. "J.D. Ayres" came its copper bell, made of 250 melted silver dollars. The bell has on top a copper acorn that was once on the "Avalon", now known as the "Belle of Louisville", and on the "Delta Queen". It also features a steam calliope, made by the Frisbee Engine Company, that has 32 notes. The wheel is made of white oak and steel, is by , and weighs 26 tons.[2] The whistle came from a ship that sank in 1908 on the Monagabola River. It was launched from Braithwaite, Louisiana. It is long and wide. It has a draft of six feet and weighs 1384 tons. It's mostly made of steel, due to United States Coast Guard rules.[3]
In 1982 the "Natchez" won the Great Steamboat Race, which is held every year on the Wednesday immediately before the first Saturday in May, as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival held in Louisville, Kentucky.[4] It has partaken in other races, and has never lost.[5] Those it has beaten include the "Belle of Louisville", the "Delta Queen", the "Belle of Cincinnati", the "American Queen", and the "Mississippi Queen".
Steamboats of the Mississippi
19579#80
Steamboat transport remained a viable industry, both in terms of passengers and freight until the end of the first decade of the 20th century. Among the several Mississippi River system steamboat companies was the noted Anchor Line, which, from 1859 to 1898, operated a luxurious fleet of steamers between St. Louis and New Orleans.
Mississippi River