Celebrate Steamboat Heritage with the Library and Cincinnati Museum Center  

Written by Brian Powers, Community Content Coordinator, Downtown Main Library

Cincinnati's history is deeply tied to the Ohio River, dating back to the pioneering days of flatboats and keelboats in the 1700s. The river industry propelled the city's growth, leading the Queen City to become one of the major steamboat capitals of America.  

With the America’s River Roots Festival taking place Oct. 8-12 on the banks of the Ohio River, the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) has partnered the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) to showcase some rare artifacts from Cincinnati’s steamboat era, highlighting some of its famous boats, prominent river captains, and notable incidents in Ohio River history.  

Library and museum staff have pulled one-of-a-kind items from their archives to celebrate this unique history. The exhibit, featuring steamboat models, vintage postcards, photos, rare books, museum pieces and information panels, will open on Thursday, Oct. 1 on the Main Library’s connector, which is located on the second floor.  

Some specials items on loan from CMC include: 

• The brass steam whistle from The Island Queen, the sidewheel steamboat that transported day-trippers between the Cincinnati riverfront and Coney Island amusement park for over 20 years. By taking thousands of city dwellers each day out of the heat and noise of downtown and providing music entertainment with cool river breezes, the Island Queen became a symbol of summer pleasures.  
• The life ring, made of painted cork, that was once on board the sternwheel packet boat Queen City, which was known for its Mardi Gras trips in the1920s. This steamboat was built in 1897 in the East End at the Cincinnati Marine Railway Company, the largest and the longest lasting boatyard in Cincinnati.  
• A wooden acorn-shaped ornament is from the steamboat City of Cincinnati, which was built in 1899 for freight and overnight passenger service between Louisville and Cincinnati. With 72 staterooms, this boat had an excursion capacity for 1,500 passengers. The boat was destroyed on Cincinnati’s riverfront in the 1918 Ice Gorge disaster.  
• Rarely seen photos of steamboat roustabouts from the collection of Cincinnati-based photographer Paul Briol. Briol was renowned for his remarkable black-and-white photographs of the Queen City’s people and landmarks. In the early 1930s, he captured these images of roustabouts as they worked on a steamboat out of Cincinnati.   

Roustabouts, African American laborers who worked on the steamboats, often faced challenging conditions and were a crucial part of the steamboat economy. They were also known for the songs they sang while working. 

The exhibit spotlights some boats from Greene Line Steamers, the family-owned and operated business established by Captain Gordon C. Greene, and his wife, Captain Mary Greene, the only female licensed steamboat pilot on the Ohio River. The Cincinnati waterfront was home and headquarters to the Greene Line for nearly 70 years, which operated 26 different boats that carried freight and passengers on the Ohio and its tributaries. Two of the company’s most famous boats were the Gordon C. Greene and the Delta Queen.   

The Gordon C. Greene, with its gingerbread décor, took sold-out crowds on trips on the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers. As hostess and master-pilot, Captain Mary was as much of a draw as the scenery and the food. This steamer appeared in several movies including Gone with the Wind and The Kentuckian. A detailed steamboat model of this legendary boat, along with its wooden, hand-painted nameboard, will be displayed. 

When Captain Tom Greene, son and company successor of Gordon Greene, purchased the Delta Queen in 1946, the boat became “legendary” as the last original overnight paddlewheel steamboat in full operation. One of the most extravagant riverboats of its time, it featured a crystal chandelier, stained-glass windows, and a grand staircase. Various memorabilia from this beloved boat, including restaurant menus, matchbooks, cabin keys, and photos, will be displayed.  

While steamboats are fondly remembered as excursion boats on pleasure trips, there were times when traveling by steamboat could be dangerous and deadly. One display case will note several tragic incidents on the river: the Moselle explosion in Cincinnati that led to federal regulations to ensure passenger safety; the Sultana disaster, where 1,800 people were killed; and the collision of the America and United States on the Ohio River, in which the resulting fire caused 74 deaths.

Much of the material for this exhibit comes from the Main Library’s Inland Rivers Collection, which documents more than 200 years of river history. Books, pamphlets, souvenir booklets, diaries, logbooks, and maps are just some of the items that can be found in this treasure trove.  

The Library can thank Captain Frederick Way, Jr. for this unique collection. When the new Main Library opened 70 years ago in 1955, Captain Way was given a private tour of the building by Library Director Carl Vitz. When he came upon a displayed book featuring a steamboat image, Way pitched the idea of the Main Library having an Inland River history deposit. Vitz immediately agreed to the idea. 

Way donated his personal collection of thousands of postcards and photographs of river boats. In 1956, the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen organization in Marietta, Ohio, with Way’s encouragement, donated their documentary materials to the Main Library. This addition made the Inland Rivers Collection one of the major resources for information about the commercial and navigational use of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and their tributaries. 

To show CHPL’s gratitude for Way’s vision and generosity, the exbibit will include a display case on Captain Frederick Way that features the book page image that inspired his idea for this research collection.