“When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of the Mississippi River. That was, to be a steamboatman. We had transient ambitions of other sorts, but they were only transient.
“When a circus came and went, it left us all burning to become clowns; the first negro minstrel show that came to our section left us all suffering to try that kind of life; now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. These ambitions faded out, each in its turn; but the ambition to be a steamboatman always remained.”
– Mark Twain, Life on
the Mississippi
Dreams in our youth – energizing
thoughts of travel and danger. Before our imaginations faded, we
occupied a world of fanciful reveries. For many of us, the sight of
an old steamboat making an occasional appearance on the Ohio River
set our minds to wander on adventures with the likes of Tom Sawyer
and Huck Finn. But, it was not only the Ohio that fascinated me as a
boy. I loved my trips to the Scioto. Of course, no vessels of note
sailed its waters … or did they?
Steamboats on the Scioto River? As
improbable as it seems, for a fleeting moment these vessels plied the
waters of the Scioto. We all know that the boats became a staple of
transport for people and products on the Ohio River, but it is less
known that for a time, enterprising merchants attempted to link the
two rivers and take better advantage of the commerce north of the
Ohio Valley by applying steam power.
Beginning in the mid-18th century, the
Ohio River was one of the great highways of North America and early
settlements thrived because of the river trade. Tens of thousands of
people used it to float westward down from the Appalachian Mountains
into the interior of the continent. As a port along the Ohio River,
many steamboats that traveled the Ohio, made stops at Portsmouth. The
produce that came down the Ohio-Erie Canal was transferred to the
steamboats for delivery to cities along the river. This made
Portsmouth a prosperous river town. How much more prosperous would
the city be if the Scioto offered portage to steam travel?
The Ohio and its tributaries, which
stretched north to nearly the Great Lakes, south to the Nashville
Basin, and east to the Cumberland Plateau, sustained the growing
population of the valley with crops and goods. Farmers loaded
flatboats filled with products of their summer labors, with wheat
milled into flour, corn distilled into whiskey and hogs slaughtered
into bacon and soap. These and innumerable other goods floated down
the Big Sandy, Scioto, Licking, Kentucky, Wabash, Cumberland and
Tennessee, then down the Ohio to the Mississippi and on to even
hungrier markets in Memphis, Natchez, New Orleans and beyond.
The appearance of the steamboat in the
first decade of the 1800s revolutionized river traffic, making it
possible to return upriver without walking, riding, pushing or
pulling against the river currents. Before the arrival of the
steamboat, items had to be carried over the Appalachians to western
Pennsylvania and floated downriver. And. the steam-powered boats
could travel at the astonishing speed for the time of up to five
miles per hour. As a result of this new technology, river travel
increased even more over time. By 1820, 73 steamboats were working
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, bringing as much as 33,000 tons of
goods back up to Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Steamboat navigation of the Scioto
River was a pet scheme with steamboat men for many years. The first
account of any traffic on the river dates to the winter of 1848. The
first steamboat, the “America,” went up the river that winter as
far as Waverly. The trip was said to be “prosperous” and “was
in the trade during the high water.” “Some three round trips”
were made altogether. It was written …
“In December, 1848, a small steamer
had been built to run up the Scioto, and the experimental trip was
made December 12, 1848. She left her moorings and was watched until
she was out of sight, by quite a large number of people. She plowed
her way gracefully and successfully against the current, and Piketon
gave her an ovation. Her name was the “Relief.” She went up as
far as the Feeder dam and Salt Creek, and grounded once, described as
'but slightly.'”
Local history speaks of other
steamboats being built in Portsmouth during the early 1800’s. The
steamboats built by Kendall and Head reportedly came down the Scioto
from about the mouth of Brush Creek, but “probably they received
their boilers, etc., at Portsmouth.” The first steamboat built in
Scioto County was called the “Herald,” later changed to the
“Ohio.”
Then, commencing February 1, 1849, the
“handsome little steamboat,” the “John B. Gordon,” became the
regular Scioto River packet making regular trips from February until
June. She was owned by the Scioto Valley Steamboat Company, and cost
$3,500.
Little more regarding the steamboat
business can be found of record. Railroads and railroad bridges soon
put a stop to much further effort. Although the Scioto was a free
highway, steamboats soon vanished from her waters. The last steamer
that attempted to do a paying business on the river was “a very
pretty little craft” called the Piketon. Belle. She was launched
October 26, 1860, and drew only twenty-two inches, was in trade in
1861, and was built and owned at Piketon. She continued her trips
until May 10, 1861.
Steamboat Reports
I thought you might like to read a
collection of “steamboat news” taken mainly from this site:
http://old.minford.k12.oh.us/mhs/history/PortsmouthHistory/RiverStories/list.htm.
The articles I choose offer a
short history of some notable occurrences mainly on the Ohio River.
Feel free to add information in the comments section of the blog.
The Ohio Repository –
July 29, 1825
Sunken Treasure
“On the 24th of June, the Steam boat
Velocipede in descending the Ohio River, near Portsmouth, struck a
snag and sunk in 8 feet of water. No lives were lost, and the cargo
was saved, except a bag containing $1000 in silver and notes.”
The Ohio Independent Press –
July 20, 1831
“A new steam boat is building in
Portsmouth, Ohio, by captain Green of the Belvedere. We understand
that thirty new boats are building this season between Louisville &
Pittsburgh, some few of these will supply the place of those worn
out.
“This is a gratifying evidence of the
increase of business on the western waters. The present season has
been remarkable profitable, and we have no doubt the next will not be
less so, notwithstanding the additional number of boats. The opening
of the Ohio canal will immediately create business of this kind to a
much greater extent, than has yet existed. The production of the
interior will find their way South through this avenue, which will
bring back an increased amount of cotton, sugar, coffee, & etc.
“The trade of the south western
States with New-York, will then find a direct, expeditious, safe and
cheap channel. We do not regard the usual objection to this route,
that of the length of time the lake remains closed with ice; as
affording an obstacle of much consequence for all mercantile men well
know how easy it would be to anticipate that occurrence by providing
supplies before hand.
The Ohio Repository – October
19, 1832
Construction of the Ohio Canal
“We understand that the completion of
this great work, will be celebrated at Portsmouth on Tuesday the 23d
inst. It affords us no ordinary degree of pleasure to announce that
this noble, and magnificent work has at length been completed.
“Capt. Knapp, of the Canal Boat
Chillicothe, who took his clearance from this place, had the honour,
we understand, of commanding the first vessel which floated from Lake
Erie to the Ohio River. He arrived at Portsmouth on the 15th.
“It was in contemplation to have
celebrated the event, in a manner corresponding with the important
epoch which, the successful completion of this splendid improvement,
constitutes in the history of our State; but owing to the excitement
of the public mind in that quarter, on account of the Cholera, the
ceremony was dispensed with.”
The Ohio Repository
– August 1834
“On the night of the 17th inst. the
steamboat Nimrod struck a rock in the Ohio river, between Portsmouth
and Maysville, which caused an explosion of the boiler, killed 4 men
and wounded several others.”
The Ohio Repository - March
20, 1850
“The steamer New England No. 2,
struck a snag as she was backing out from the landing at Portsmouth,
yesterday morning, and sunk to within two feet of the hurricane deck:
She was bound to Pittsburgh; no particulars are reported: Several of
the deck passengers were drowned.”
The Chester Times – Chester,
PA; June 24, 1884
Murder on the Steamer Minnie Bay
Portsmouth, O., June 24
“As the steamer Minnie Bay arrived at Portsmouth with a crowd of excursionists, a dispute arose between Richard Duckworth, of Syracuse, and George Fox, colored, of Huntington. Duckworth crushed Fox's skull with a beer bottle. Duckworth is in jail and Fox is dead. This is Scioto County's second murder within two days.”
“As the steamer Minnie Bay arrived at Portsmouth with a crowd of excursionists, a dispute arose between Richard Duckworth, of Syracuse, and George Fox, colored, of Huntington. Duckworth crushed Fox's skull with a beer bottle. Duckworth is in jail and Fox is dead. This is Scioto County's second murder within two days.”
The Coshocton Tribune
– December 17, 1893
Seals Escape into the Scioto River
“Four seals escaped from a dime
museum in Columbus, Ohio, the other day and disappeared in the waters
of the Scioto River.”
The Cambridge Jeffersonian –
January 18, 1904
Ferryboat, B. F. Bennett, Sinks
“Portstmouth, Oh., Jan. 26 -- The
Ohio river ferryboat B. F. Bennett, owned by Captain Isaac Miller,
sank in the ice at the mouth of the Scioto river. The vessel was
valued at $4,000 and will be a total loss. Insurance amounting to
$2,000 was carried.”
The Lima News -- April 30,
1936
Steamers Go Aground, Blocking Ohio
River
“Rivermen worked today to unscramble
two steamers and 16 loaded coal barges which piled up on rocks and
sand bars at nearby Sciotoville, blocking Ohio river traffic. The
steamers, the E.D. Kenna and the Steel City, ran aground as they
attempted to negotiate a narrow channel while towing the barges.
Employes in charge of the Ohio river dams said one of the barriers
would be opened to raise the water level sufficiently to float the
stranded vessels.”
A Horrible Scene
Perhaps the most tragic steamboat
accident on the Ohio River occurred on the night of July 4, 1882,
near Mingo Junction. It was caused by a collision between two
excursion boats, the “John Lomas,” of Martin's Ferry, and the
“Scioto,” of Wheeling. The Scioto had brought an excursion down
from Wellsville, Ohio, in the early part of the day, and was on her
return trip; while the Lomas was on her way down with her
excursionists.
The "Scioto" sank almost
immediately in sixteen feet of water. The "Lomas", after
first discharging its passengers on the riverbank, returned to help
rescue survivors. Panic increased the death toll as many passengers
on the "Scioto" flung themselves into the water to avoid an
imagined outbreak of fire aboard the sinking craft. While some were
trapped in cabins and thus lost their lives, most of the victims
perished after falling or jumping into the river. Many of the
survivors climbed to the "Scioto's"upper decks, which
remained above the surface. Several of the victims drowned while
attempting to save fellow passengers. The death toll eventually
totalled fifty-seven.
Here is a description of the scene ...
“The associated press reporter arrived at the scene at noon, at which time only nine bodies had been recovered. Both banks of the river are lined with people, making a crowd of perhaps 2,000 persons, and the work of dragging in the vicinity for bodies is still going on. William Mulholland, of Wellsville, Ohio, under whose auspices the excursion on the ill-fated Scioto was given, said the boat took on about 200 passengers at East Liverpool, and 250 at Wellsville.
“The boat was very much crowded and
the Captain refused to stop at other points where tickets had been
sold. Taking his statements with others, it is safe to say that 500
souls were on board at the time of the collision. Captain Smith, of
Martin's Ferry, who was on the John Lomas, says: 'When some distance
from the Scioto, I noticed the boats would come together and make
preparations for the shock.'
“Both steamers had on a full head of steam, the Lomas going down the stream at a rate of fifteen miles an hour, and the ascending Scioto at the rate of twelve miles. It seems to be the prevailing opinion that the collision resulted from a misunderstanding or confusion of signals.”
“Both steamers had on a full head of steam, the Lomas going down the stream at a rate of fifteen miles an hour, and the ascending Scioto at the rate of twelve miles. It seems to be the prevailing opinion that the collision resulted from a misunderstanding or confusion of signals.”
And, nearly a week later, another
report said …
“It has been nearly a week since the
“Scioto” with its load of precious human freight was suddenly
stricken down and hundred of her passengers were, in the twinkling of
an eye, forced to battle with the waves for their lives, or sink down
to death beneath the cruel waters from exhaustion or inability to
swim. It was a fearful night, and it is no wonder that the scene was
so vividly graven on the mind of poor Captain Thomas, and the horrors
of the catastrophe for some time drove reason from her throne.
“Standing on the deck of the
ill-fated streamer one could hardly believe it was the charnel house
of so much death. There was no evidence in the vicinity that the
workers were seeking for the dead, except where one caught the
strained gaze and pale, sad face of some watcher on the shore. The
scene on shore was more like that of a mining camp or the beginning
of a young western town.
“Some two or three booths had been
erected by parties who made an easy dollar out of the disaster by
supplying the wants of those who were hungry. And here and there were
the embers of camp fires and marks that showed that some party had
pulled up stakes and flown. Under the trees and lining the banks were
people looking on the scene with indifference, attracted by mere idle
curiosity.
“What a change from last Tuesday
night, when the moon between the rifts in the clouds looked down on
the waters blackened with struggling human forms, and then veiling
her face as the wail of the lost floated over the waters ending in a
bubbling cry of despair. One week ago the eyes of those now glassy in
death were filled with the light of expectancy, and were, perhaps,
anticipating the pleasures the trip would afford. To-day the towering
hills on either side of the river stand as mute monuments of their
graves, and the waters rush on sending to the shores ripples that die
in a sigh on the beach.”
Sources
Eagles73. “Steamboats on the Scioto
River.” Scioto River Navigation. May 03, 2009.
“A Pall of Egyptian Gloom: The
sinking of the “Scioto.” East Liverpool Historical Society,
Volume 15/Number 4, pp 18-25. July-August 1998.
Christopher Phillips. “The
Breadbasket of the Union.” The New York Times. August 8, 2012.
Portsmouth Library saved to
Photos/History of Portsmouth, Ohio
“River/Canal Stories.”
http://old.minford.k12.oh.us/mhs/history/PortsmouthHistory/RiverStories/list.htm
“The Scioto Disaster.” Wheeling
Intelligencer. July 10, 1882.
A Standard History of the Hanging
Rock Iron Region of Ohio: An ..., Volume 1
edited by Eugene B. Willard, Daniel
Webster Williams, George Ott Newman, Charles Boardman Taylor.
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