Famous for its prolific orchards, which produce peaches in summer and apples in the autumn, Calhoun County, Ill., has a long history involving steamboats.
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May 24, 2021 By Keith Norrington
With the spotlight on St. Louis for this week’s eighth annual Inland Marine Expo, the Old Boat Column presents a riverboat that was a favorite of the host city.
Never in a class with the palatial sidewheelers such as the J.M. White and Grand Republic, the Golden Eagle was, nevertheless, one of the best-known riverboats of all time. The sprightly sternwheeler made national news when it sank, 74 years ago this month, on May 18, 1947. With Capt. Nathan Smith at the wheel, the Golden Eagle struck a riprap revetment at the head of Grand Tower Island, 80 miles south of St. Louis, tearing a 6-foot gash in the hull. The accident was attributed to failure of the steering gear, which caused the rudders to jam.
February 22, 2021 By Keith Norrington
After years of a relative respite from severe winters, it appears that icy times have returned. Unlike the Upper Mississippi River where, owing to ice harbors, coves and other safe places, mariners in cold climates take icy conditions in stride, the Ohio River has never been well equipped to handle it; especially in steamboat days.
According to record, one of the worst ice blockages on the Ohio occurred in the 1850s, when the river completely froze and remained closed to traffic for 57 days.
As most river historians agree, the most damaging ice situation of all time, on both the Mississippi and Ohio, happened during the winter of 1918. With most of the steamboats still being wooden-hulled, the razor-sharp ice virtually sawed hulls off at the waterlines. As the ice piled up on main decks, it either sank the boat from the excessive weight or crushed the upper works.