Category Archives: West Virginia History Hero
BLOCH BROS. “MAIL POUCH” CHEWING TOBACCO
BLOCH BROTHERS TOBACCO COMPANY by John Bowman MAIL POUCH CHEWING TOBACCO and BLOCH BROTHERS TOBACCO COMPANY dates from 1879, when Samuel S. Bloch and Aaron Bloch started their business with ten women at 1501-1503 Main Street in Wheeling, West Virginia. The tobacco business amounted to a group of women rolling cigars on the second floor […]
Read MoreWHEELING CANNON “Old Garibaldi”
WHEELING’S “OLD GARIBALDI” Civil War CANNON by John Bowman “OLD GARIBALDI” was forged at Wheeling, Virginia’s La Belle Cut Nail Plant in 1861 and fired following the CIVIL WAR, the SPANISH AMERICAN WAR, WORLD WAR I, WORLD WAR II, the KOREAN WAR, the PERSIAN GULF WAR, and the VIETNAM WAR. The Cannon sat undisturbed at […]
Read MoreCROCKARD & BOOTH STEAMBOAT AGENTS WHARFBOAT
CROCKARD & BOOTH STEAMBOAT AGENTS WHEELING WHARF BOAT Authentic scale model by John Bowman This Crockard & Booth Steamboat Agents wharf boat was built at Murraysville, West Virginia and delivered to John Crockard and Captain John K. Booth in 1889. The floating warehouse was purchased to replace “Booth’s Old Reliable” which had been in service […]
Read MoreSUNNY SOUTH DISH BOAT and a HOUSE or SHANTY BOAT
The SUNNY SOUTH DISH BOAT and a HOUSE or SHANTY BOAT Models by John Bowman The Sunny South was a houseboat or shanty boat with about one third of the interior fitted out as a country store, (Aka) also known as a “Dish Boat” (so called as it featured china from the upper Ohio River […]
Read MoreWEST WHEELING FERRYBOAT
WEST WHEELING FERRY Model by John Bowman The side-wheel ferryboat “West Wheeling” was built at the McNaughton & Dunlevy Yard at West Wheeling, Ohio in 1860. Rebuilt many times, she served the Wheeling area off and on for thirty-five years into 1895. Phillips & Co. of Wheeling built her double boiler steam machinery. Here, she […]
Read MoreHOMER SMITH EXCURSION STEAMBOAT 1914-1928
HOMER SMITH Excursion Steamboat of POINT PLEASANT, WEST VIRGINIA Authentic Scale Model Replica of the Stern-Wheel Excursion Steamboat Homer Smith 1914-1928 Model by John Bowman 2009 The Stern-wheel packet-excursion steamboat Homer Smith was built by the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1914. Her wood hull measured 235 feet in length and her width was […]
Read MoreLIBERTY LINE WHARFBOAT 1919-1922
LIBERTY LINE WHARFBOAT 1919-1922 Model designed and built in 2009 by John Bowman The Liberty Transit Co. that served Wheeling, West Virginia from 1918 to 1923 used this LIBERTY LINE WHARFBOAT. This packet company was formed in Wheeling and in operation in 1918. Liberty Transit Co. used names that would sell, or be well recognized […]
Read MoreBERYL FERRYBOAT and FERRY FLAT
BERYL FERRYBOAT and FERRY FLAT Clarington, Ohio Authentic Scale Model Replica of the Ferryboat Beryl and Ferry flat Designed and Built 2011 by John Bowman The gas-powered ferryboat Beryl was built in 1925 at Clarington, Ohio by Cook Bros. & Thomas (Charles Cook, Arthur Cook and Elmer Thomas) Boat Builders for John Marion Jackson of […]
Read MoreCLARINGTON OHIO WHARFBOAT
CLARINGTON, OHIO WHARFBOAT This circa 1860s Scale Model Clarington, Ohio wharfboat Model by John Bowman 2011. Clarington’s Wharf Boat supplied Clarington, the Upper Ohio Valley and Wheeling with much of its daily needs. The wharf boat at Clarington was always filled with butter, milk and eggs from the Sunfish Valley and cheeses from dairy farms […]
Read MoreAdmiral Porter’s 1863 Civil War Gunboat Hoax
Admiral Porter’s 1863 Civil War Gunboat Hoax “Deluded People, Cave In.” Model by John Bowman Admiral Porter had observed that many of Vicksburg’s battery guns would burst while firing on his vessels. Logically, Porter deduced, the more vessels he could send past the batteries, the more guns would burst. February 24th, 1863, Porter launched his […]
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