JOHN BOWMAN

Author, Historian, (West Virginia History Hero) And Steamboat Model Builder......... The steamer “City of Wheeling” and the "Crockard & Booth Steamboat Agents" Wharfboat sitting at Wheeling's Wharf September 2, 1900

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Wheeling Steamboat History and other Wheeling Historical Articles by JOHN BOWMAN

TOWBOAT PHOTOS JOHN BOWMAN’s COLOR BOAT PHOTOS D – I Post 2 of 6

The majority of these Diesel Towboat Color Photos were taken at 40o 05’ 55.60” N 80o 42’ 21.04” W. Elevation 667’ Ohio River mile 87.6 at the lower end of (Warwood), Wheeling, West Virginia circa the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Many photos (150+) were taken on the Lower (L) Mississippi River, 30 at Warfield Point, near […]

TOWBOAT PHOTOS JOHN BOWMAN’s COLOR BOAT PHOTOS A – C Post 1 of 6

The majority of these Diesel Towboat Color Photos were taken at 40o 05’ 55.60” N 80o 42’ 21.04” W.  Elevation 667’ Ohio River mile 87.6 at the lower end of (Warwood), Wheeling, West Virginia circa the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Many photos (150+) were taken on the Lower (L) Mississippi River, 30 at Warfield Point, near […]

LOG BOOK OF THE STEAMER BOAZ FRANK A. GOULD CAPTAIN by John Bowman©

Excerpts from the Towboat BOAZ LOG BOOK by Capt. Frank A. Gould December 27, 1904 to March 5, 1913. LOG BOOK OF THE STEAMER BOAZ FRANK A. GOULD Captain The stern-wheel towboat Boaz (Way T0277), the third of five towboats with this name had her hull built at Sewickley, Pennsylvania.  She was completed at Pittsburgh […]

WHEELING’S SCULL and SHELL BOAT RACING and WHEELING BOAT CLUBS 1865 – 1900 by John Bowman

In 1865, the Civil War had ended, soothing the entirety of America’s humanity.  What was one to do now? Wheeling had the river, the magnificent Ohio River, and it would fit into the thoughts of “something to do now”. The colleges of Harvard and Yale in 1843 made use of the river, racing rowboats; making this […]

MOUNTAIN MAMA by Glinda Bowman 1983

I’m a Mean Mountain Mama with a huge Buda-Bama I take a bath, the Bedbugs crawl; I can laugh, while I Bawl I sing, the dogs all squall, I make biscuits bounce off the wall I’m a Mean Mountain Mama. I’m a Mean Mountain Mama with a huge Buda-Bama I’ll make you so mad, you’ll […]

THE CIVIL WAR STEAMER SULTANA by John Bowman

The 1863 660-ton side-wheel steamer Sultana (the fifth of that name)[1] was built for Capt. Pres Lodwick at the Cincinnati, Ohio John Litherbury yard, and launched January 3rd, 1863.  Moore and Richardson of Cincinnati built her machinery, boilers and engines.  Sultana was 260 feet in length, and 42 feet in width, her hull was 7 […]

THE WHEELING, PARKERSBURG AND CINCINNATI STEAMBOAT TRANSPORTATION COMPANY by John Bowman

Ohio River Steamboat Transportation Companies Headquartered in Wheeling / Wheeling Packet Lines. The Wheeling, Parkersburg and Cincinnati Transportation Company in business from early 1867 owned and ran these steamboats, the 1864 Rebecca from 1867 to 1869, the 1862 Express from 1869 to 1871, the 1870 Courier from 1870 to 1884, and the 1870 Express No. […]

STEAMBOAT PASSAGE AND FARE MID – 1800s by John Bowman

When you booked passage on a 1800s steamboat, and depending on what you could afford, you found quite a difference between the conditions enjoyed by steamboat cabin passengers and deck passengers.  Those who could afford the best traveled in near splendor.  We are talking of ‘For that time’.  Boarding the boat at the bow, Forecastle, […]

BILL OF LADING – FREIGHT ON BOARD Regarding FLATBOATS, KEELBOATS, and STEAMBOATS by John Bowman

What is a steamboat “Bill of Lading”?[i] A steamboat Bill of Lading was a two-piece receipt torn from a bound book, usually kept at the Wharfboat office that listed the goods received by a steamboat agent one copy of which was given to the carrier of the goods and one copy was given to the […]

The WHEELING – LOUISVILLE ‘UNION LINE’ WHEELING’S 1853 STEAMBOAT PACKET LINE by John Bowman

The WHEELING – LOUISVILLE ‘UNION LINE’ Daily served the cities of Wheeling, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. Ohio River Steamboat Transportation Companies Headquartered in Wheeling, Virginia (West Virginia) The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer March 11, 1853 UNION LINE! Daily Steam Packet Service to the cities of Wheeling, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. S.C. Baker & Co. […]