Topic starter
10/12/2008 7:03 pm
Hey all!
A friend of mine gave me this picture his grandfather had framed on the wall in his Clarksville, IN house for over 50 years. The quality is pretty bad, and I cleaned it up alot.
What I can figure out is the ISLAND QUEEN (1), BONANZA, and INDIANA are laid up behind a island. I am assuming this is above Cincinnati. It looks like it is high water, possibly in the late fall or early spring, as there isn't a leaf on a tree in site.
I am assuming this is in the late teens, looking at the shape of the INDIANA and the boats in the picture.
Anyone wanna take a stab at the story behind this picture? I can only figure out what I have said here...it is a bit of a curiosity to me.
~Travis~
10/12/2008 8:40 pm
Travis,
I'm pretty sure this is the flood of 1913, looking out the mouth of the Kentucky River at my landing (on the distant Indiana shore), which at that time was the ferry landing between Carrollton, KY and Lamb, IN. This would be taken from the first KY River bridge built at Carrollton in 1900. The bridge piers are still there, but the new US 42 bridge is 50' away from them.
All these boats used to winter in the KY River from the ice. This worked until the 1918 ice, when the KY River also gorged and "ran-out", pushing boats into the Ohio River gorge.
I'll try to post a few different photos of this scene that I have.
Nice photo!
10/12/2008 8:52 pm
Steve, the Bonanza was dismantled at Covington in 1909. The Indiana was built in 1900. It follows that the picture was made between those years. I think I have a copy of that picture, so I will try to identify the towboat there in the Ohio. It may be Hercules Carrel and it may not.
10/12/2008 9:01 pm
Ok, it's a flood between 1909 and 1900, but I know I got the location right! Here are some 1913 flood photos anyway...
First photo shows the Island Queen, in the same location as in Travis's photo.
Next photo shows the Indiana, Kentucky and Princess.
10/12/2008 9:26 pm
Travis et al: interesting pix and thread. Steve, it sure looks like you are correct as to location...boats moored in Kentucky River and Ohio River beyond. Steve, I've got a picture of your rig there too only looking more toward the west bank of the Kentucky...the LORETTA and the BARBARA. Mike Fletcher was with me that day. Cap'n Walnut
10/12/2008 9:32 pm
1907 was another big flood, and a good possibility. Here is an interesting web page with some old flood photos: Carrollton, pre-1937 Floods
10/12/2008 9:41 pm
Tom,
I'd like to see your photo, if you have it scanned. Here is a photo I took at that time, from the "new" KY River bridge in January '04. My fleet is tied off to the old 1900 bridge piers. The Barbara H is about where the BONANZA is in Travis's photo.
10/12/2008 9:53 pm
Steve: My photo is from nearly the same spot only the BARBARA is faced up behind the Loretta; not alongside...LORETTA about the same spot and in your photo. What year was that and I'll see if I can find it?
10/12/2008 10:37 pm
We can narrow the photo date down even better because the Coney Island Co. did not winter their boats in the Kentucky until 1905. Prior to 1905 they wintered at Cincinnati.
10/12/2008 10:48 pm
I think it was January '04. I lived-aboard there for 56 days, until first week of March. While there I got good at switching out generator water pumps and fuel filters. At one point the KY river had slabs of 2" thick ice running out, so I faced the Barbara H up behind the Howard to keep out of harm's way.
10/12/2008 11:59 pm
my money would be on the 1907 flood...a flood high enough that it impressed the Howard's enough to expose at least 50 glass plate negatives of scenes in and around Jeff, the shipyard and the family commuting by boat. The water was over Market St. in Jeff in front of the Howard Mansion.
11/12/2008 5:20 pm
According to the reliable, old Ohio River Handbook, there were two floods in 1907. The first crested on Jan. 21 at 65.2 ft. and then on March 19 at 62.1. For those who are curious and know what the river is like today, normal pool in the Cincinnati harbor is 26 ft. So the two 1907 floods were noteworthy indeed.
The 1937 flood crested on Jan. 26 at 80.0 ft.
11/12/2008 8:18 pm
I could be wrong, and maybe I've missed something, but I'm thinking this is not the Island Queen in the right foreground of the photo. All my photos of the first IQ show her with fewer decorative puddings or "rolls" at the top of her stacks. The boat in this photo has several decorative stack rolls. Is there a nameboard visible anywhere on this boat in the right foreground? Anyway, I don't have time to research this, but wanted to point that out.
11/12/2008 9:27 pm
Where you from, boy? Them crossed sticks be oars!
11/12/2008 10:52 pm
And that smoke stack just right of center sure looks like a phone pole to me! Although there is no question in my mind, that is the young beauty painted on the boat's port wheelhouse peakin' through the trees.
12/12/2008 12:19 am
You guys must be looking at this old photo on that web page:
1907 Carrollton Flood - Main Street
Yes, those are oars, and the first IQ...
'Twas not I who wrote those web pages and photo captions... The author of that web site is Bernie Spencer. There are some nice old photos on there: www.nkyview.com.