Topic starter
22/01/2012 6:38 am
Hi Everyone,
I live in Vicksburg and two weeks ago I went down to photograph the remains, as the foliage has mostly died out near the river front I was able to get pretty close to the stuff. I was hindered by vines and vegetation near the shaft and it remains as pictured here. The Smoke Stacks remain at the primary site with the other parts, they are tending to the weather very well in spite of their age, all appear to be solid, however they are laying on the ground and that will speed up their eventual demise. The area nearest the vast majority of the parts did flood with the Spring Flood of 2011. There are two other sites with the balance of the parts, one behind the Klondyke Trading Post, which is within short walking distance of the river front where the AQ will tie up on its visit to the city. The Klondyke owner told me that the parts have been on his property greater than 20 years, there is one complete and undamaged rudder there, what I believe to be the Pittman arm to the paddlewheel shaft, along with one bilge pump and some other things that came from the engine room.
The parts that are at the Klondyke are in very good shape, most still have a decent coat of red paint on them. I was told by David Day who owns the property that the reason the vast majority of parts have not scrapped are they are entirely too heavy to move. We discussed the parts by the river and he believes that it would take a crane and heavy duty house moving low boy trailers to do anything with the parts. The capstans are the only parts being utilized in the catfish row art park by the flood wall in which you can see if you travel aboard the AQ this spring. 
Topic starter
22/01/2012 6:40 am
More Sprague Pictures
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
Topic starter
22/01/2012 6:41 am
More Sprague Pictures 2012
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
Topic starter
22/01/2012 6:43 am
The Sprague Pictures 2012
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
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22/01/2012 6:50 am
The Sprague Remains 2012
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
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22/01/2012 6:56 am
Sprague Fire 1974
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
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22/01/2012 6:58 am
Black And White Sprague
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
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22/01/2012 6:59 am
The Sprague At Work
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:01 am
Sprague Pictures
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:02 am
The Sprague In Better Times
Here are some more pictures of The Sprague More To Come
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:08 am
Sprague Food
Entrees - I. Dixie No. 1 - Boneless Chicken on toast with Blanc Sauce, Baked Potato and Choice of Vegetable - II. Express No. 2 - Trout Amandine served with River Bends and choice of Vegetable - III. Belle of the West - Ribeye fillet as you like it served with Baked Potato or River Bends and Asparagus Spears - IV. Queen of the Coast - Stuffed Crab and Fried Chicken served with Hush-puppies/Oysters and our famous River Bends. All Dinners include Side Wheeler Biscuit and French Bread
*DESSERTS* Desert of the Day - Homemade Ice Cream, Pineapple Upsidedown Cake, Coffee or Tea
A LA Carte - Shrimp Cocktail $1.50 - Oyster Cocktail -$1.25 - Jell Consomme $.75 - Salads $.75 - Potato Salad a la Salon $.75 - Gumbo cup $.95 - Oysters on the Half Shell (doz) $2.75, Jumbo Fried Shrimp, River Bends & Salad $2.75 - 10 oz. U.S. Choice Ribeye Steak & River Bends and Salad $5.50 - Lobster Tail & Steak w/River Bends & Salad $5.75 - Shrimp Salad Deluxe $3.50 - Fruit Plate Dinner $2.75 - Fried Chicken with River Bends & Salad $3.50 - Crab Meat Au Gratin with River Bends, Salad and Vegatable $4.25
.Shrimp E Touffe & Salad $3.95 - VEGETABLES - Asparagus Spears .60 - Squash Amandine .60 Broccoli with Hollandaise Sauce .60 DESSERTS - Dessert of the Day .75 Home Made Ice Cream .50 and Pineapple Upside Down Cake .75
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:12 am
Sprague Images
Thats all for now. Hope some of these images are new to some of you.
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:45 am
Sprague History
Found a few interesting things
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:49 am
The Sprague
Found some more info on The Sprague
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:51 am
The Sprague In The After Life
Here are some shots of the salvaged items that have been re-purposed.
22/01/2012 12:15 pm
Thank you, Gary! Very interesting pics, and a few I had not seen before. Thanks for sharing.
22/01/2012 5:54 pm
Arson?
Thanks Gary for posting these interesting photos. My recollection was that the fire was considered arson at the time. Is that correct and if so did anyone get accused or prosecuted?
22/01/2012 7:05 pm
I can not beleive how much good stuff Judy left behind.
Topic starter
22/01/2012 7:18 pm
The Sprague In 2012
hi Everyone,
I am still looking into the history of what happened, I plan to visit the old courthouse museum soon to see what they have. The talk of Arson was thrown around a few times and it was one of those things that was swept up under the rug and left alone. I do believe the VFD had an aerial ladder truck in 1974, I am almost sure of it. Why was there not a good water supply established, even if it meant drafting from the river, that truck put in service and could reach out over the top of the boat and more of her could have been saved.
22/01/2012 9:11 pm
ca. 1979-1980 Sprague Photos
I am attempting to load some photos I took of the Sprague about 1979-1980. I am not exactly sure of the year. A couple of us went up to the Sprague to do some exploring when it was sitting high and dry. At that time there was still faint hopes that maybe they would restore her after the fire. Here are the first three of seven photos. Sorry for the quality of the scans. This is my first attempt at it.
22/01/2012 9:15 pm
Sprague Photos
More Sprague photos from ca. 1979-1980
22/01/2012 9:18 pm
Spargue Photos
More Sprague photos from ca. 1979-1980. The last photo show me standing UNDER the paddlewheel. It gives you some perspective of the size of the thing.
22/01/2012 10:10 pm
I had only one suitcase!
Bill Judd;28691 wrote: I can not beleive how much good stuff Judy left behind.
When Lexie and I rowed up and visited the beached and broken wreck, we did acquire a couple of things. But since I had flown to the DQ, I was working with only one suitcase - do you know how big one of those stirrups is????????? By the way, Keith has been to Vicksburg more recently than I have, and by car!
22/01/2012 10:46 pm
Thanks very much, Gary, for sharing your collection of SPRAGUE images. WOW! You have some great ones! I enjoyed several visits to the big towboat, beginning in the summer of 1969, when I was 15 years old. After the 1974 fire, I visited the boat numerous times, including several pilgrimages to the field at the upper end of the Vicksburg harbor where she was high and dry. I remember once while I was intently focusing my camera I heard an unusual sound and looked up to see a herd of horses thundering at me. I quickly sought refuge UNDER the sternwheel!
One memorable visit was in the summer of 1983 in company of Judy, Capt. Lexie Palmore and Jeff Spear. The Mississippi was HIGH and rising, already well above flood stage, but we were determined to get as close as possible to the half submerged wheel shaft and other parts. We were walking briskly along Highway 61 in the torrid heat looking for parts of the boat when Jeff nearly stepped on a large snake. We all screamed and jumped HIGH in the air before we realized it was dead!
Over the years, many steamboat buffs and buffettes have paid their respects to the once MIGHTY steamer SPRAGUE! After visiting the new Catfish Row Park, I couldn't help but wonder what Capt. Eugene Hampton (longtime master of the SPRAGUE) would think of seeing his beloved boat's capstans and jackstaff (gallows) painted PINK!!!! Years before the park opened, the artifacts lay in weeds along the downtown riverfront, including the two smokestacks. Just for the unique distinction, I had my picture taken INSIDE one of the stacks and even crawled all the way through it!
Again, many thanks for sharing your pictures! Incidentally, was one of those views of the JULIUS C. WILKIE burning at Winona in 1981?
IMAGES: SPRAGUE at Vicksburg, June 16, 1969. Yes, I know it says DO NOT TOUCH on the pilotwheel, but the kindly and very genteel lady guide said it was perfectly fine to touch it while my grandfather took the picture -- since I was so "intah-rested in steeeeemboooats"!
Topic starter
22/01/2012 11:39 pm
Sprague In 1980
Hi Ted,
Thanks for posting the great photos. They were taken just before I was born, so I admit my age of 31. From those photos it would appear that she could have been salvaged. I understand from a guy in my MQ group that I have on Facebook that he was on the bow of the DQ when they landed beside The Sprague around 1970 and he said the hull was starting to get brittle by that point and I would imagine thats possible as the boat was about 60 years old then, but it survived the fire and being pushed on shore, so that leaves the question to beg, could she have been saved? My guess would have been yes, but it always down to the one major problem facing every boat that still exists.....Money, which I thoroughly believe brought forth the demise of the MQ.
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