"SHSI Certificate of Recognition"
"Best on the Web"


Encyclopedia Dubuque

www.encyclopediadubuque.org

"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN

Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.




STEAMBOATING: Difference between revisions

From Encyclopedia Dubuque
Jump to navigationJump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 95: Line 95:


There was much complaint here in 1860 that the packet lines of steamers from St. Louis to St. Paul and from Galena, Dubuque and Dunleith to St. Paul were creating a monopoly in the carrying trade upon the Mississippi River by driving off every other boat. Numerous acts mentioned showed that this was the apparent object of those lines. (57)  
There was much complaint here in 1860 that the packet lines of steamers from St. Louis to St. Paul and from Galena, Dubuque and Dunleith to St. Paul were creating a monopoly in the carrying trade upon the Mississippi River by driving off every other boat. Numerous acts mentioned showed that this was the apparent object of those lines. (57)  





Revision as of 04:13, 18 April 2014

Steamboat Racing

STEAMBOATING. Steamboating on the Western rivers preceded the arrival of permanent settlers especially in the case at Dubuque. In 1811 the first steamboat was built for the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; by 1838 there were in existence on these two rivers 638 steamers, besides about 6,000 flatboats and keelboats. Before 1832 many steamers came up to Galena and Prairie du Chien. As there was no settlement of Dubuque, only an Indian encampment, most of the boats did not stop here. (1)

In 1832 Capt. N. F. Webb commanded the Tippecanoe and visited all up-river ports, including what is now Dubuque. (2) In 1834 Capt. Harris, with the steamer Jo Daviess, brought a large crowd from Galena to witness the execution of Patrick O'CONNOR. (3) Many steamers sailed the Upper Mississippi in 1836, and among those that stopped at Dubuque were the Dubuque, Captain Atchison; Missouri Fulton, Captain Smith; Heroine, Captain Tomlin; Olive Branch, Captain Strother. (4)

            The new and splendid steamboat Missouri Fulton 
            arrived at this port on Friday last with 225 
            passengers on board and 250 tons of freight. 
            The Missouri Fulton made her last trip from Galena 
            to St. Louis in thirty-five hours, being the quickest 
            trip ever made between those ports.
                        DUBUQUE VISITOR, May 11, 1836.  (5)

In August, 1836, the Missouri Fulton set the quickest trip on record to that date. She arrived from St. Louis to Dubuque in 78 hours, with 30 hours spent making stops on the way, thus with an actual running time up stream of 48 hours. The boat carried 325 cabin and 100 deck passengers and 250 tons of freight.(6) By 1838, twenty-two steamboats were involved in the Dubuque to St. Louis trade. (7)

By ordinance, 1837, there was a port physician whose duty it was to board every steamboat or other vessel coming from any port known to be infected with any disease and examine the passengers and crew previous to their landing. All such persons were to be prevented from landing. (8) In April, 1849, the steamer Josiah Lawrence reached Galena with 450 passengers and thirty cases of cholera on board; eleven of them proved fatal. (9) When the disease broke out at Galena, Dubuque residents became alarmed. Lime was scattered over streets and alleys; everybody was ordered to "clean up." (10) Cures for the disease included a little nutmeg or essence of peppermint and water added to some burnt cork in a teaspoonful of brandy mashed with loaf sugar. (11)

Throughout its history, steamboating dangerous and difficult. On August 15, 1837, a few miles below Bloomington, on the upper Mississippi river, the steamer Dubuque burst one of its flues and scalded sixteen persons to death and dangerously scalded many others, several of whom afterwards died.(12) The steamer Dubuque about September 19, 1837, ran on a snag just above Hannibal, Missouri, tore a large hole in her hull and sank quickly in twelve feet of water. The principal cargo was groceries and flour. The boat was a total loss. (13) During 1838 on the upper Mississippi the following accidents to boats occurred: Ariel, struck a rock, sank, raised; Des Moines, snagged, raised; Irene, snagged, lost; Indian, snagged, raised; Quincy, damaged, repaired; Science, snagged, lost. (14)

Climate always played an important role in river commerce. Water level determined the schedule of charges applied to cargo. The lower the level of the water, the higher the rate. The river on August 5, 1864, was at its lowest point on record.(15) Large quantities of freight were heaped on the levee. Water in the river was so scarce that it was humorously said that its use even to soften whiskey was forbidden.(16)

Even the threat of ice limited navigation. St. Paul was iced-in approximately five months annually. The area between Keokuk and Dubuque was blocked by ice an average of seventy-five to one hundred five days annually. In Dubuque, the need of safe storage of steamers led to the development of the ICE HARBOR. Ice even led to such bizarre inventions as STEAM SLEIGHS.

The movement of boats was very uncertain and irregular.

             The Galena Packet Line, Dubuque Packet Line and a 
             large number of independent boats have all been 
             overtaxed and compelled to refuse a large amount of 
             freight. The season is now so far advanced that packet 
             boats do not consider it safe to sign bills of lading only 
             to a short distance up, and the independent boats, as 
             fast as they come down, are drawing off and going to 
             more sunny climes.
                   EXPRESS AND HERALD, November 19, 1856 (17)

Steamboats carried a wide range of cargoes. On one trip in 1857 the Cremona deposited on the levee of Dubuque a total of 1924 packages weighing over 111 tons.(18) Usually just before navigation closed, store supplies for the winter were brought up in astonishing quantities; the same rush occurred each spring to market at St. Louis and other points down the river the products of the upper country. (19)

In 1838 for the first time the steamboats began to carry the mail regularly to all up-river ports as far as Prairie du Chien. This was an important development, because previously all mail came to up-river points by stage and horseback across Illinois and Wisconsin. (20)

Steamboats carried huge amounts of cargo on America's rivers. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

The river traffic was very brisk and large in 1838 and 1839. (21) Large numbers of settlers and livestock, and quantities of household goods, arrived by every steamer and passed into the interior. Steamboats carried freight, machinery, and fuel. Because engines primarily burned wood, frequent refuelings were needed and woodcutters' homes sprang up along the banks of the river and became welcome landmarks.(22) Deck passengers paid the lowest fares and carried some of the wood aboard as part of their cost-of-passage. They also carried their own food and slept on the deck at the rear of the boat. The second deck was inhabited by the cabin passengers who had their own sleeping quarters, dining room, men's room, and ladies' parlor. The parlor was located at the rear of boat. This was considered the safest part of a steamboat due to the frequent explosions of the boilers that were located in the front of the boat. The hurricane or top deck was the reserve of the pilot and ship's officers. (23)

In 1841-43, the following boats, among others, were engaged in trade on the upper Mississippi ; their tonnage follows : Agnes, 92 ; Amaranth, 200; Chippewa, 102; Galena, 115; General Brooke, 120; Illinois, 120; Indian Queen, 115; Ione, 140; Iowa, 112; Jasper, 98; Malta, 130; Mermaid, 160; Nauvoo, 125; New Brazil, 200; Ohio, 130; Osage, 140; Osprey, 105; Otter, 95; Potosi, 115; Rapids, 115; Sarah Ann, 135; St. Louis Oak, 115; and eleven transient boats with an aggregate tonnage of 1,300. In 1841 these boats made 143 trips, carried freight worth $124,000, and passengers to the amount of $73,400 in fares. (24)

During its heyday, festive boats with bright paint and gingerbread scroll work carried passengers who dined on sumptuous food, including occasionally a choice of thirteen desserts, prepared by many of the best chefs in America. Dining rooms had thick carpets, well-stocked bars, and wine lists that rivaled those of the finest Eastern restaurants. Brass bands and orchestras provided music. (25)

            Pleasure excursions to the Falls of St. Anthony — 
            the Ha-ha-wat-e-pa (laughing waters) of the Sioux — 
            are becoming quite fashionable this season. The fast, 
            beautiful and popular steamboat Brazil touched at 
            Dubuque on her way up, with a large company of ladies 
            and gentlemen in high spirits on Monday evening. 
                    IOWA NEWS, July 23, 1840 (26)

The price of steamboat travel varied with the amount of competition but tended to decrease over the years. A trip from St. Louis to New Orleans in 1832 cost five dollars. A cabin passenger paid twenty-five dollars for the upstream portion of the trip and twenty dollars to return. By 1859 the trip from Dubuque to St. Paul cost two dollars. (27)

Silver-plated tableware. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.
Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.

Travel on the Mississippi was encouraged by glowing accounts of the area including the route outlined in 1835 as the "Fashionable Tour" by George CATLIN. (28)

Poster. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
Photographers visited Dubuque in their own boats for years.

Specialty steamboats dropped anchor at Dubuque and other river towns. Photographers and patent medicine vendors visited Dubuque on their own boats that often came with vaudeville acts to attract larger crowds. (29) Showboats brought theater to communities starved for culture. Others docked, plied their trade including gamblers, prostitutes, and saloon-keepers and then left. (30) In 1861 a rhinoceros was found attempting to escape a buoy chain at the wharf in Dubuque. The animal had escaped when the "Key City" had collided with a circus steamboat. (31) In 1862 one of the local newspapers encouraged people to visit the wharf to see a gorilla that was being shipped to St. Louis. (32)

The steamboat "Tigress" brought a shipment of stone of the quality used in the Mormon temple at Nauvoo, Illinois to Dubuque in July 1838. (33) These stones were later used in the construction of the DUBUQUE CUSTOM HOUSE AND POST OFFICE and HAM HOUSE. Agricultural implements for farmers in the north passed Dubuque regularly. In May 1867, two hundred sixty-four reapers were carried north past Dubuque on the steamer "Canada." Four threshers were left at Dubuque by the "Bannock City." (34) One of the most seasonally valuable trades with river cities was in fruit. Dubuque residents displayed an enormous appetite for apples. The "Tom Jasper" left over one thousand barrels in 1869. (35)

"Life boards" were maintained on river boats. If a collision or fire took place, passengers could cling to these in the water. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.

During the 1840s and 1850s it was customary for the steamers of different lines or independents to race both up and down. (36) These races were always exciting and often dangerous. Bets were freely made and gambling was open and for high stakes on the boats. Early in June, 1850, the Nominee and Dr. Franklin had an exciting and hotly contested race of several days' duration along the upper Mississippi.(37)

Boat whistles were used for signaling. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
Cannon were used on ships for defense and signaling. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.

Another race occurred between the "West Newton" captained by Daniel Smith Harris of the Minnesota Packet Company and the "Die Vernon" under Captain Rufus Ford of the Keokuk Packet Line. (38) The race began on June 15, 1853. The "Die Vernon" stopped in Dubuque, but the "West Newton" steamed past. The "Die Vernon" did not catch up with the "West Newton" until the next morning when a fierce race began. The "Die Vernon" eventually won the race to St. Paul and set a record of eighty-four hours from St. Louis and twenty-eight hours over the 265 miles from Dubuque. (39)

Model of a boat used to remove snags from rivers. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.

Efforts to increase speed often led to hazardous conditions. Snags, a constant problem, were able to rip the hull of a boat so that the stricken vessel would sink in minutes. Low water led to the danger of sandbars that often shifted position. Hazards also came from the equipment on the boats. High-pressure boilers capable of getting more power with less weight were commonly used on western steamboats. Metal used in the construction of the boilers was occasionally poor and burst from the high pressure or lack of water. Steamboat captains, interested in winning races, occasionally ordered AFRICAN AMERICANS to sit on the safety valve. (40) This created an abnormal amount of pressure that led to increased speed but also the chance of explosion. Wooden boats were highly susceptible to fire. Sparks that led to fires increased when substances such as oil, pitch, or lard were added to the fires for more steam. (41) The use of additives to the fires was most obvious at night when showers of sparks could be seen against the dark sky. Europeans were even enthralled by the idea. In 1903 Sir Thomas Lipton offered a prize of $20,000 for an old-fashioned steamboat race on the Mississippi River. (42)

Photo courtesy: Bob Reding
Floating bouys attached to weights like this to keep this in place helped boats stay in the channel. Photo courtesy: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium

Until 1852 steamers used on the upper Mississippi were usually small although spoken of as "elegant." In March, 1852, the Dubuque business men here sent an agent to St. Louis to purchase one or more steamers of a higher, heavier and more refined grade. (43) The St. Paul, a new and very fast steamer, was saluted by artillery upon its arrival here early in 1852; she made the round trip from Galena to St. Paul in two days and sixteen hours, landing en route twenty-one times. (44)

Steamboats were owned by “lines” or individual businesses along the river. In 1848 the steamer St. Peters was owned here by P. and R. C. Waples; the boat ran regularly to St. Louis and was one of the Dubuque and Potosi Packet Line. W. S. Grims was master. Another regular packet boat was the Dubuque, Edward H. Beebe, master.(45)

A line of boats connecting Dubuque and St. Paul had been desired for several years; late in 1854, efforts to establish such a line were made. (46) Late in 1854, Messrs. Mobley, Barney, Benton, O'Halloran and Hall were appointed a citizens' committee to solicit stock subscriptions for a St. Paul steamboat line. In April, 1855, Galena owned eight or ten fine steamers; Dubuque owned two or three. There was plenty of talk about such a line, but Dubuque business men would not invest. (47)

In April, 1855, Dubuque had almost doubled in population in two years. Galena was so envious of Dubuque's growth that it did all it could to injure the latter. (48) The Galena Packet Company assisting Galena finally refusing to allow its boats to stop at Dubuque. This step at last roused Dubuque businessmen to action. (49)

In 1856 the Dubuque, Minnesota & Wisconsin Packet Company, with Mr. Farley as president, was in operation. (50) They bought the steamer Golden State, a side-wheeler of 277 tons, for $14,000. The Dubuque Packet Company also bought several new boats — Excelsior, Captain Kingman; Fanny Harris, Captain Worden; Kate Cassel, Captain Harlow; and Golden State. The organization of these companies came about because of the hostility of Galena and the Galena Packet Company. (51)

Freight rates in the spring of 1857 were as follows: Dubuque to McGregor and Prairie du Chien, 20 cents per hundred; Lansing, 22 cents; La Crosse, 25 cents; Dacotah and Trempeauleau, 26 cents; Reed's Landing, 30 cents; Red Wing, 31 cents; St. Paul, 35 cents. (52)

The St. Louis and St. Paul Union Line, not based on Dubuque, owned the following boats in 1858; Pembina, Captain Griffith; Canada, Captain Ward; Henry Clay, Captain Campbell; Metropolitan, Captain Rhodes; Minnesota Belle, Captain Hill; W. L. Ewing, Captain Green ; Denmark, Captain Gray. (53)

The Union Packet Line, in 1858, owned the following boats which ran regularly between St. Louis and St. Paul : Pembina, Capt. Thomas H. Griffith; Minnesota Belle, Capt. Thomas B. Hill; W. L. Ewing, Capt. Montroville Green; Canada, Capt. James Ward ; Metropolitan, Capt. Thomas B. Rhodes ; Denmark, Capt. Richard C. Gray. They left Dubuque for St. Paul every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and for St. Louis every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. (54)

The Northern Packet Line later owned and operated the following sidewheel steamers : Pembina, Captain Griffith ; Minnesota Belle, Captain Hill ; Denmark, Captain Gray ; Henry Clay, Captain ; Stephenson; Canada, Captain Ward; Wm. L. Ewing, Captain Green; Metropolitan, Captain Rhodes; Northerner, Captain Alvord ; Lucie May, Captain Rhodes ; Dew Drop, Captain Parker ; Lake City, Captain Blake; and the Chippewa, Captain Crapeta. (55)

In the spring of 1860, the Illinois Central Railroad Company, or its individual members, put on a line of packets on the upper Mississippi, under the name Dubuque, Dunleith & Minnesota Packet Line. (56)

There was much complaint here in 1860 that the packet lines of steamers from St. Louis to St. Paul and from Galena, Dubuque and Dunleith to St. Paul were creating a monopoly in the carrying trade upon the Mississippi River by driving off every other boat. Numerous acts mentioned showed that this was the apparent object of those lines. (57)


            We have found it to be a duty we owe to Dubuque, to 
            the merchants of this city and to ourselves to cease 
            giving to the Northern Line of steamboats that attention 
            which their course to this city and to its mercantile 
            interests have forfeited. Dubuque and her business interests 
            have submitted too long and too tamely if not too servilely 
            to the outrages inflicted upon her business by persons 
            and companies who have taken advantage of the adversity 
            to which this city has been subjected to inflict upon her, if 
            possible, a lasting, permanent injury. For our part we do 
            not feel like suffering such treatment as this Northern line 
            of boats seem disposed to inflict upon this city with impunity.
                         DUBUQUE DAILY HERALD, July 14, 1860  (58)

At St. Paul, Minnesota the Minnesota Packet Company was trying to force out of business the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad & Packet Line. The fare from La Crosse to Chicago was reduced to $4.75 by way of Dunleith and Prairie du Chien. The Minnesota Packet Company thus carried passengers for nothing in order to injure its rival. In fact, it reduced the fare from St. Paul to Chicago to $1.00 about September 20, 1860, but the next day raised it to $4.75. (59)

In 1861 the Northern line of packets had the following boats and captains : Haweye State, R. C. Gray; Sucker State, T. B. Rhodes; Canada, J. W. Parker; Pembina, J. B. Hill; Metropolitan, T. B. Buford; Henry Clay, C. B. Goll; Denmark, J. J. Robinson; W. L. Ewing, J. H. Rhodes; Northerner, P. A. Alford; Fred Loring, M. Green. William Wellington was the line's agent and clerk at Dubuque. (60)

Envelope

The boats and captains of the Galena, Dubuque, Dunleith and Minnesota Packet Company for 1861 were: War Eagle, C. L. Stephenson; Golden Era, W. H. Gabbert; Itasca, J. Y. Hurd; Milwaukee, J. Cochrane; Northern Belle, W. H. Laughton; Ocean Wave, N. F. Webb; Keokuk, E. V. Holcomb; North Light, John B. Davis; Grey Eagle, D. S. Harris; Key City, Jones Worden; Fanny Harris, W. L. Faucette; Alhambra, Ben Howard; Flora, J. W. Campbell. The first four were a daily line between Dunleith and St. Paul ; the next three were on the daily line between La Crosse and St. Paul; the next three were on the Northern line from St. Louis to St. Paul; and the last three were on the freight line from Dunleith to St. Paul. (61)

The Northern Packet Line had five boats: Northerner, Hawkeye, Sucker State, Canada and W. L. Ewing; it was tri-weekly. In the St. Louis and St. Paul Line were the Pembina, Denniaik, Metropolitan, which ran tri-weekly between St. Louis and Dubuque, and the Bill Henderson, Fred Lorenz and others, which ran daily between Dubuque and Davenport. In 1862 the names of the boats and captain were Pembina, Hill; War Eagle, Webb; Alhambra, Wellington; Canada, Parker; Milwaukee, Holcomb; Pearl, Hale; Itasca, Hurd; Bill Henderson, Rhodes; Key City, Worden; Hawkeye State, Gray; Northerner, Alford; Keokuk, Hatcher. (62)

The CIVIL WAR had an effect on steamboating as ships were taken over for military service. Captain Spencer J. Ball, an old river captain, was employed by the government to pick out vessels for the expedition against Vicksburg. (63) He was authorized to draft into service all boats of two hundred feet and under. He selected the Ocean Wave as one in March, 1863, and eight more were under inspection. It looked to shippers as if they would have to use the railroads. The Bill Henderson had been in the government service, but was released at this time, though soon taken again. The Allamakee, Eolian, Chippewa Falls and Frank Steele were seized up the river for the use of the government. The Bill Henderson took down the river one hundred and fifty packages of sanitary stores for different Iowa regiments April 9, 1863. The government had taken so many boats that almost anything that would float was put in commission in 1863. (64)

Late in 1863 the Minnesota Packet Line sold all its steamers to the stockholders of the Illinois Central Railway, as follows: Key City, Worden; Milwaukee, Holcomb; Itasca, Webb; Ocean Wave, Laughton; War Eagle, Mitchell; Northern Light, Gabbert; Clara Ames, Ewing; Flora, Wilcox; Franz Siegel, and the Durand. In all fifteen steamers and twenty-seven barges were sold for $150,000. (65)

Mr. Wellington bought a small steamer and commenced business between Dubuque and Winona; was soon joined by Mr. Blanchard; they secured more boats and managed to buy enough stock to control the election of officers of the consolidated company. This accomplished, they reorganized the company November 19, 1863, under the name Northwestern Packet Company. John Lawler, of Prairie du Chien, became president; W. E. Wellington, of Dubuque, superintendent, and George Blanchard, of Dubuque, secretary and treasurer. This company, with headquarters in Dubuque, added to its craft until by March, 1866, it had ten first-class steamers and thirty-six barges varying in capacity from five thousand to twenty thousand bushels of grain. During the winter of 1865-6 the company spent one hundred thousand dollars in constructing barges. The capital of this company in boats was about five hundred thousand dollars. (66)

The Northern Packet Company elected the following officers late in January, 1864: T. B. Rhodes, president; T. H. Griffith, secretary. Their vessels were the Davenport, Hawkeye State, Sucker State, Northerner, Canada, Pembina, Muscatine, Burlington and Savannah. (67)

In April, 1864, the Chippewa Falls and Cutter passed Dubuque on its way to Idaho by way of the Missouri River. They belonged to what was known as the Idaho Packet Line headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The cabin passage to Fort Benton was $150, with eighty pounds of baggage free. (68)

In 1865 the elegant side-wheel packets averaged about eight miles an hour, soon to run exclusively for passengers or for freight. Late in 1865 the Northwestern Packet Company offered for sale the steamers Milwaukee, Northern Light, Itasca, War Eagle, Key City, Ocean Wave, Flora, Diamond Jo, Damsel, Julia and Lansing. (69)

There was a large economic impact of steamboats on river communities. The Northwestern Packet Company annually spent in Dubuque about two hundred thousand dollars; its taxes here in 1865 amounted to $6,981.40. (70)

In May, 1866, a new company — the Northwestern Union Packet Company —bought all the property of the La Crosse & Minnesota Steam Packet Company and the Northwestern Packet Company. Its officers were William F. Davidson, St. Paul, president; John Lawler, Prairie du Chien, manager; George A. Blanchard, Dubuque, secretary ; William Rhodes, St. Paul, treasurer; W. E. Wellington, Dubuque, and P. S. Davidson, La Crosse, superintendents. The new company started with thirty steamboats and seventy-three barges. The invested capital of the company was announced as one million five hundred thousand dollars. The shipping capacity was the moving of one million bushels of grain every five days. The barges alone had a capacity of three hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels. The company's side-wheel boats were Phil. Sheridan, Milwaukee, City of St. Paul, Itasca, Ocean Wave, Northern Belle, Key City, Keokuk, War Eagle and Favorite; and its stern-wheel steamers were Addie Johnston, Damsel, Annie Johnston, Diamond Jo, Jennie Baldwin, Julia, G. H. Wilson, Flora, Clara Hine, Hudson, Mankato, Chippewa Falls, Mollie Mohler, Stella Whipple, Ariel, G. H. Gray, Albany, Cutter, H. S. Allen and St. Cloud. The headquarters of the company were established in Dubuque. (71)

The Union company became known as the "White Collar Line." There was a strong rivalry between it and the Northern Line. The latter had the following boats and masters in 1869: Minneapolis, F. B. Rhodes; Dubuque, J. B. Rhodes; Minnesota, T. B. Hill; Davenport, B. A. Cooper; Muscatine, G. W. Jenks, Sucker State, William P. Hight; Hawkeye State, J. Worden; Canada, M. Green; Savannah. R. F. Isherwood; City of Keithsburg, J. W. Campbell; New Boston, Robert Melville. (72)

In 1869 the Northwestern Packet Line, the former Minnesota Packet Company, had the following boats and masters : Tom Jasper, Frank Burnett; Phil Sheridan, A. M. Hutchinson; Milwaukee, E. V. Holcombe; City of St. Paul, Thos. Davidson; Mattie McPike, Moses Hall; Key City, Judd West; War Eagle, Thos. Gushing; Addie Johnson, Sam Painter; Jennie Baldwin, Charles Leuserbox; Keokuk, Isaac H. Moulton. (73)

Cutthroat competition occurred between the White Collar Line and the Northern Line. In 1868 rates for the trip between St. Louis and St. Paul ranged from five to eighteen dollars. (74) A truce was reached in mid-June, but this agreement did not last. In 1871 the White Collar Line and the Northern Line agreed on a schedule of prices for the up-river trade; cut rates and economic war was averted. In 1872 the White Collar and Northern lines dissolved their rate agreement and prepared to cut prices to secure the trade. (75) In 1871 the route between Dubuque and Clinton could be covered in one day. (76)

Joseph "Diamond Jo” REYNOLDS entered the grain business in Prairie du Chien only to find that rivals controlled the railroads and shipping lines. He chose to build his own fleet of and by 1873 had five steamboats each of which could push eight barges of grain or about 100,000 bushels. His boats also towed log rafts. (77) Gradually the grain business was replaced with carrying passengers. The Diamond Jo Line, established by Reynolds, moved its corporate offices to Dubuque from Fulton, Illinois, in 1874. Their first boats and masters were Tidal Wave, Mitchell; Arkansas, Wilcox; Diamond Jo, Isherwood; Ida Fulton, Killeen, and Imperial. (78) Crooked cedar trees in Dubuque brought good prices. The trucks were adzed out and quarter sawed for ribs in hull construction. (79) By 1884 advertisements indicated that Diamond Jo packets operated between St. Louis and St. Paul with local packets running three times each week between Dubuque and Davenport. (80)

The Diamond Jo Line was given concessions of land when the company agreed to establish its headquarters in Dubuque. In 1878 the Diamond Jo Company located permanently at Eagle Point. Later the company moved to First and Levee where it remained until the line was sold in 1911. (81) In 1880 the Diamond Jo Company built another large steamer — the Mary Morton, Capt. John Killeen; the boat cost about forty thousand dollars. Joseph Reynolds directed the construction. He had previously built in Dubuque the Libbie Conger and the Josephine. In June, 1880, the Diamond Jo Company had six steamers in service. By January 1890 the company employed seventy-eight men. The company constructed the Stillwater, Mark Bradley and J. W. Mills, built several large coal barges and was at work on two new steamboats for Clinton and Rock Island owners. (82)

Early in 1873 the White Collar and the Northern lines were merged into the Keokuk Northern Line, a company with a capital of seven hundred thousand dollars and John A. McCune president and W. F. Davidson superintendent. The Keokuk Northern Line waged war on all cities that charged wharfage; the courts had recently decided against the right of cities to make such charges. The company within a few years had weathered bad economic times. Under the reorganization of the Keokuk Northern Line early in 1881, Henry Lourey became its president. (83)

In 1878 there passed through the drawbridge 3,139 steamboats, 884 barges, and 176 wood flats. The 498 log rafts, 159 lumber rafts, and 37 tie rafts accounted for an estimated 459,000,000 feet of lumber. (84)

In the spring of 1881 the Dubuque & St. Louis Packet Company was organized in connection with the Chicago Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. The company was headquartered in Dubuque, and B. E. Linehan was one of its principal members. (85)

By 1885 so great was the demand for quick river transit that the Diamond Jo Company prepared to construct fast passenger boats to travel from St. Louis to St. Paul — all of steel and to be built in Dubuque. (86)

About March 18, 1886 the following boats were owned at Dubuque: Helen Mar, Louisville, Menominee and B. E. Linehan, by Knapp. Stout & Co.; A. Railing, by the Standard Lumber Company ; Nellie, by Specht Bros.; Jim Watson, by Hamsen & Linehan. Forty-eight business firms along the river owned eighty boats. (87) In 1916, continuing the practice, MOLO SAND AND GRAVEL COMPANY purchased the steamer Iris to tow their sand barges. (88)

In January, 1889, the St. Louis, St. Paul & Minneapolis Packet Company was organized. In July, 1890, the office of the United States steamboat inspector was moved to Dubuque. (89)

In spite of continued business, the era of steamboats was coming to an end. By the 1870s, passenger traffic had declined as railroads offered a quicker and more dependable means of year-round transportation. (90) Short- run packets were used in 1893-94 to meet new conditions. The run of each seldom exceeded one hundred miles usually from one large town to the next. (91) The cut of 30 per cent in railroad freight rates was an especially severe blow to river traffic. (92) In 1911 the last steamboat operating out of Dubuque was sold.

Steamboating continued. In 1911 the Northern Steamboat Company announced a regular weekly service between Davenport and St. Paul. (93)The Streckfus Steamboat Company that purchased the fleet of the Diamond Jo Line and operated a line of steamboats between St. Louis and St. Paul after 1911 (94). To encourage business, the company published “Along the Mississippi,” a magazine illustrated with scenes along the Mississippi. (95)

In August 1979 United States President Jimmy Carter took a week-long cruise aboard the historic Delta Queen. They stopped in Dubuque where an estimated 4,000 people welcomed him. Before leaving, Carter was spotted jogging near the lock and dam with his doctor, military aide, and a Secret Service agent. Returning to the boat, he showered, changed clothes, and then made a brief speech about the nation's energy crisis. (96)

Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

Source:

1. Oldt, Franklin T., History of Dubuque County Iowa. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1880, Online: http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/franklin-t-oldt/history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl/page-23-history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl.shtml

2. Ibid.

3. Petersen, William J. Steamboating on the Upper Mississippi, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, 1968, p. 292


4. “Old River Days in Dubuque Recalled,” Telegraph Herald, Aug. 12, 1928, p. 38. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AzFkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N70MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1649,2305990&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

5. Oldt, p. 23

6. Ibid.

7. Petersen, William J. “Then and Now,” Telegraph Herald, Dec. 8. 1940, p. 7. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IJJSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IMsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3197,6039231&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

8. Oldt, p. 23

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. Petersen, p. 354

14. Oldt. 23

15. Ibid.

16. Oldt, p. 25

17. Oldt, p. 24

18. Petersen, p. 386

19. Oldt, p. 23

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. Petersen, p. 261

26. Oldt, p. 23

27. Ibid.

28. Petersen, p. 261

29. Oldt, p. 23

30. Petersen, p. 390

31. Oldt, p. 23

32. Petersen, p. 383

33. Oldt, p. 23

34. Petersen, p. 385

35. Oldt, p. 23

36. Ibid.

37. Petersen, p. 266

38. Petersen, p. 267

39. Petersen, p. 268

40. Petersen, p. 434

41. Oldt, p. 23

42. “Steamboat Race,” Thames Star, Vol. XXXXI, Aug. 22, 1903, p. 4. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jBleAAAAIBAJsjid=5l8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4768,7323950dq=steamboat+companies+dubuque&hl=en

43. Oldt. 23

44. Ibid.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Ibid.

48. Ibid.

49. Ibid.

50. Ibid.

51. Ibid.

52. Ibid.

53. Ibid.

54. Ibid.

55. Ibid.

56. Ibid. p. 25

57. Ibid.

58. Ibid.

59. Ibid.

60. Ibid.

61. Ibid.

62. Ibid.

63. Ibid.

64. Ibid.

65. Ibid.

66. Ibid.

67. Ibid.

68. Ibid.

69. Ibid, p. 26

70. Ibid.

71. Ibid.

72. Ibid.

73. Ibid.

74. Petersen, p. 379

75. Ibid., p. 26

76. Ibid.

77. “Dubuque to Clinton,” Dubuque Daily Herald, Oct. 4, 1871, p. 1. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mB9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_l8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2167,183807&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

78. Roseliep, Tom, “Steamboating and the Diamond Jo Line,” Telegraph Herald, June 30, 1994, p. 21. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A11FAAAAIBAJsjid=GLwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4264,6881217&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

79. “Waterfront Notes,” Telegraph Herald, Aug. 24, 1938, p. 7. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v9tBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3akMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3277,6683476&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

80. Oldt, p. 26

81. Roseliep.

82. Foote, Frank, “Pioneer Rivermen Based Their Operations in Dubuque,” Telegraph Herald, Sept. 11, 1964, p. 21. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vn1FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tLwMAAAAIBAJpg=4254,1479135dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

83. Oldt, p. 26

84. Ibid.

85. Ibid.

86. “New Packet Company,” Dubuque Herald, Mar. 25, 1881, p. 4. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h4RCAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H6sMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3137,2466610&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

87. Oldt. p. 26

88. Ibid.

89. Petersen, p. 351

90. “Dubuque Firm Buys Steamboat,” Telegraph Herald, Oct. 27, 1916. p. 3. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jBleAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5l8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4768,7323950&dq=steamboat+companies+dubuque&hl=en

91. “Dubuque and the River,” Dubuque Daily Herald, Jan. 1, 1895, p. 2. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6I5FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9rwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1420,1761257&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

92. Oldt, p. 26

93. “River Scenes are Shown Nicely,” Telegraph Herald, July 13, 1913. p. 3. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9p9dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=71wNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6667,6137996&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

94. “Dubuque in New Steamboat Line,” Telegraph Herald, June 20, 1911, p. 12. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LfZCAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8qsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1345,1004496&dq=steamboat+companies+dubuque&hl=en

95. “Capt. Streckfus Affirms Report,” Telegraph Herald, Feb. 9, 1911, p. 12. Online:http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nvBCAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4asMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1206,853601&dq=steamboats+dubuque&hl=en

96. Ullrich, Kurt,"Presidential Port of Call," 175 Telegraph Herald Commemorative Edition Mar. 26, 2012, p. 6B