TIP #461: STEAMERS ALONG THE GREEN RIVER I have been reading a marvelous little book entitled "The Green River of Kentucky", published by Helen Batter Crocker, University Press of Kentucky, published in 1976. In this book, Ms. Crocker traces the settlement and diversity of cultures along the Green River and the development of the river as a major waterway. As an introduction, the Green River is "one of the navigable streams born in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Flowing west and then north for some 370miles, it cuts widely across west-central Kentucky until it finally reaches the Ohio River, 197 miles above its confluence with the Mississippi." It drains nearly one-fourth of Kentucky, as well as a portion of northern Tennessee. {p. 1} As Kentucky was being settled, even prior to statehood, the new settlers primarily entered the state though the Cumberland Gap or over the Ohio River. Eventually, they spread to other parts of Kentucky from the original settlement areas and discovered the beauty of the land and the river called "The Green River Country." They had no idea then of how large it was - 9,430 miles of drainage in Kentucky and 377 square miles of Tennessee. They didn't anticipate the flooding of the Green River, the remaining Indian attacks, the lawless element that came in also in the bodies of the Harpe Brothers and others. Nor, did they know the depth of the river during the rainy season or the shallowness of it during summer's heat. But the land was fertile and offered great potential. For many years they simply fished the river, crossed the river and moved inland during the flooding times. Each community or settlement was rather independent of any other settlement. They raised their crops, built their houses and churches, bartered amongst themselves and lived out their lives. But there are always the adventurous! Yes - the adventurous or the dreamer who watched when occasionally a small boat floated past between the Ohio Valley and Nashville with goods to trade at the destination. But for a time, they just watched. Looking at a good place for a ferry here and there in the more shallow portions, they built a few ferries or bridges. The most well-known early crossings were located at Bowling Green, Munfordville and Greensburg. At the little town of Rumsey in McLean County, a Mr. Shoemaker built a ferry. At Rockport, in Ohio County, a ferry built in 1817 carried travelers towards Hopkinsville in Christian County. It was not until 1808 that the Kentucky Legislature passed a law to improve Green River. An amendment was added in 1811 ordering clearing of obstruction of debris. Only Mud River to Wolf Creek, Rough River and Long's Ferry, and Drakes Creek were considered navigable. Then the steamboat fever attacked! Everyone it seemed wanted to be able to harness the Green River, to transport goods from one location to another; and many a young lad dreamed of being the Captain of a real smoke-belching steamship! With the addition of locks, and a lot of political hassling, the Green River was becoming a major waterway. The town of Bowling Green, according to Ms. Crocker, benefited greatly from the improvements and grew from a population of 815 to 4,575 between the years of 1830-1870. {p. 15]. Businessmen in Bowling Green were visionaries and saw the potential in the river and the Big Barren River. James Rumsey Skiles was one of the early innovators and in January 1928, a full-fledged steamship reached Bowling Green called "The United States." It was a tiny thing in comparison to future steamers, but can you imagine the excitement of the community when she appeared! The next years were a time of exploration, disappointment, frustration, bankruptcies, and political involvement as this new modern mode of shipping developed. Sometimes it was one step forward, one step back and tempers flared. But, somehow with a lot of fortitude and planning, more steamers were built and made their way down the Green River. I will not go into all the difficulties encountered or all the people who were involved; I would recommend the readers to find a copy of this book for an enjoyable read. But I shall list some of the people and ships that chugged along over the next few years. And then came the Civil War. Both sides of the war participants refused to pay the tolls at the locks; and according to Ms. Crocker, the gunboat operators threatened the lockkeepers. {p. 25]. They also stopped most commercial traffic during the war so the state only collected less than $400 during the war years. However, damages to the locks ran in excess of $36,000. Local rivermen weren't allowed to use Green River which hurt the economy of the citizens terribly and tempers grew hotter. Families, churches - everyone was fighting. The Confederates, in order to stop the Union jammed Lock #3 and Barren River Lock #1 with boulders. After the war ended, it was difficult for the local rivermen to get things back to normal with the damages incurred. In 1868, the state legislature chartered the Green and Barren River Navigation Company. Other names of individuals connected to the steamboating era included: David R. Haggard, Chairman of the Navigation Commission Captain John Sproul - Superintendent of the Green and Barren River line. C. G. Smallhouse - later president William Brown, Jr - investor Charles Van Meter - secretary L. H. Kinchelow - local Bowling Green boatman James F. Woolcott - old time pilot who after retirment returned to relieve other pilots on the Green River. Charles, James and George Woolcott - ran a ship named "Three Brothers" - a floating sawmill. George Ankerman - a floating tinshop. Richard T. Williams - ran boats for 50 years. William Ham - a penniless raftman who got drunk and fell overboard. Drowned. Tom Reynolds - ran the "Majestic" - a showboat. Captain Coombs was one of the early captains. Other ships passing through Bowling Green and along the Green River included "General Warren", "Glasgow" "General Worth" "Lucy Wing". "Sallie Anderson" was seen in Greensburg in 1851. "Governor Breathitt" was in service, arriving at Bowling Green in December of 1842. "The Bowling Green" (burned) "The Evansville" "Longfellow" "The Crown Point" "City of Clarksville" "Ida" "Samuel" "Indiana" "Maggie Bell" "J. C. Kerr" "Chaperone" (passenger ship formerly the J. C. Kerr, ran to Mammoth Cave in Edmonson County) "Crescent" (ran several corpses to the area of burial) Showboats: "Doc Bart's Fun Boat" (show boat) "New Sensation" (showboat) "Columbia" (show boat) "Cottom Blossom" "New Era" "Water Queen" "Princess" "Floating Theatre" Roberterson's Floating Palace" In conclusion, Ms. Crocker noted that pay for the crew wasn't very spectacular. In 1900 the "Samuel " crew was paid: $80 a month for pilot, $75 for chief engineer, $60 for second engineer and $30 for cook. I would recommend Ms. Crocker's book to those of you who dream of high adventure and thrill at the thought of riding the old steamers. Something very special has passed away. (c) Copyright 2 Oct 2003, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved. Colonel Sandi Gorin SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html SCKY surname registry sites: http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyclinto/reg.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyclinto/forms/SCKYreg.html Gorin Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/