The Annie Russell was a sternwheel pleasure boat constructed in 1902 for Augustus Busch. James Gardner of St. Louis, MO purchased it after construction was completed. Gardner operated the boat for pleasure cruises on the Mississippi River. The Kansas City- Missouri Navigation Company converted the Annie Russell into the towboat Advance in 1911. The Bald Eagle was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1898 for the Eagle Packet Company. The company operated the Bald Eagle as its commercial vessel between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO from 1917 to 1924 when replaced by the third Cape Girardeau. The Bald Eagle would occasionally return to St. Louis-Cape Girardeau service when the Cape Girardeau made trips to New Orleans, LA. The Belle of Calhoun was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1895 for the St. Louis and Clarksville Packet Company. Named for the “Belle of Calhoun County, IL” Anna Wood, the Belle was a popular packet receiving several passenger service awards. The Memphis and Vicksburg Packet Company renamed the boat Julia after purchasing it in 1899. When the St. Louis and Calhoun Packet company purchased it in 1905, the Belle of Calhoun name was restored. The first Cape Girardeau (1901-1910) was a sidewheel packet constructed in 1899 as War Eagle for the Eagle Packet Company. The company changed the name after being rebuilt due to a fire in 1901. The first Cape Girardeau operated as the Eagle Packet’s commercial vessel between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO until it sank in 1910. The second Cape Girardeau (1911-1916) was constructed as the sidewheel packet City of New Albany in 1892. The steamboat was also named New Idlewild and Spread Eagle before the Eagle Packet Company changed the name in 1911. The Spread Eagle/Cape Girardeau operated between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO beginning after the first Cape Girardeau sank in 1910. The second Cape Girardeau continued this service until it sank in 1916. The third Cape Girardeau (1924-1935) was a sidewheel packet constructed in 1924. It operated as the Eagle Packet Company’s commercial vessel from 1924 to 1935 between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO. Passengers praised the Cape Girardeau for being a spacious and luxurious boat. The boat made yearly trips to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, LA and the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY 1924. The Cape Girardeau’s name changed to Gordon C.Green when it was sold to the Green Line of Cincinnati, OH in 1935. The Chester was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1888 as the Cherokee for the Eagle Packet Company. The boat’s name was changed to the Chester in 1903 and operated by the Chester Line between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO. The Chester was sold to the Kansas City-Missouri River Navigation Company in 1907 operating it between St. Louis, MO and Kansas City, MO. The City of Memphis was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1898 for the St. Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company. The company altered City of Memphis’s route from between St. Louis, MO and Memphis, TN to between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO in 1903 to compete with Lee Line and Eagle Packet steamboats. After negotiations with the Lee Line in 1910, the boat was relocated to the Tennessee River. The City of Memphis was renamed S.B. Duncan when Tom Morrissey of Vicksburg, MS purchased it later that year. The City of Paducah was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1891 for the St. Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company. The boat operated between Paducah, KY, on the Ohio River, St. Louis, MO on the Mississippi River, and Florence, AL on the Tennessee River. The City of Paducah also operated eastward to Johnsonville, TN on the Cumberland River. Twenty-seven people died when City of Paducah sank May 11, 1901 in Grand Tower, IL. The City of St. Louis was a sidewheel packet constructed in 1883 for the Anchor Line. Operating between St. Louis, MO and New Orleans, LA the City of St. Louis was considered as one of the finest steamboats on the lower Mississippi River. Thomas B. Sims purchased the boat at a liquidation sale in 1897. The boat was purchased by a group of merchants from Greenville, MS in 1902 and continuing to operate the boat between St. Louis, MO and New Orleans, LA. The City of Warsaw was a ferry operating between Cape Girardeau, MO and East Cape Girardeau, IL in the 1900s. It snagged on a piece of ice on Christmas Eve 1909 and sank. The Dick Williams was a sternwheel towboat constructed in 1927and was primarily used on the Ohio River. The Wood Brothers Construction Company of Lincoln, NE chartered the boat in 1929 (possibly 1928 as well) to transport lumber for the construction of a system of dams and levees to control flooding on the Missouri River. The General T.L. Casey was a sternwheel steamboat constructed in 1893 for the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ St. Louis District. The boat was named for Brigadier General Thomas Lincoln Casey, Chief of Army Engineers from 1888 to 1895. It was sold to the Mississippi River Commission in 1907. The Casey sank in 1910 at the mouth of the Red River in Louisiana while on a survey expedition for the Commission. The Grey Eagle was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1892 for the Eagle Packet Company. The Grey Eagle replaced the Idlewild as Eagle Packet’s commercial vessel between St. Louis, MO and Cape Girardeau, MO. The Grey Eagle was sold in 1910 to Captain William H. Thorwegan who operated the boat for private excursions from St. Louis, MO. Hill City was a sidewheel packet constructed as the City of Monroe in 1888 for the Anchor Line. It operated between St. Louis, MO and New Orleans, LA. The boat was rebuilt as the largest packet west of the Mississippi River in 1897 and renamed Hill City. Thomas B. Sims purchased the boat at a liquidation sale later that year operating it as an excursion boat. The World’s Fair Navigation Company purchased the boat in 1901, renaming it the Corwin H. Spencer in 1903. The Horatio G. Wright was a sidewheel snagboat constructed in 1880 for the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Based in the St. Louis District it was used to remove obstructions in the middle and lower sections of the Mississippi River that were impeding the flow of river traffic. The Horatio G. Wright was decommissioned in 1941. The John Bertram was sidewheel train ferry constructed in 1880 for the Sioux City & Pacific Railroad. The ferry was rebuilt for the Illinois Central Railroad in 1898. The Illinois Central operated the John Bertram at various locations along the Mississippi and Ohio River until 1912 when it sank. The John F. Lincoln was a railroad transfer ferry constructed in 1881 for the Linehan Railway Transfer Company. Operating in the Cape Girardeau, MO vicinity, the Lincoln serviced the Chicago and Texas Railroad Companies as well as the St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, and Fort Smith Railways. It also operated in Cairo, IL where the ferry became trapped on shore there in 1900. The Lily was a sternwheel lighthouse tender constructed in 1875. Captain William Eagon Long operated the Lily after it was damaged by fire and reconstructed in 1884. The boat serviced light buoys on the Mississippi River and its tributaries between St. Louis, MO and St. Paul, MN. The L.E. Patton was sternwheel towboat constructed in 1894 for the Anderson- Tully, later the Patton-Tully Company of Memphis, TN. The Patton operated on the Lower Mississippi River and its tributaries. The Bisso Company of New Orleans, LA later owned the Patton. The Lotus Sims was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1888 for the Memphis and Arkansas City Packet Company as the second Kate Adams. The boat was sold to the Chalmette Packet Company and it’s named changed to the Dewey in 1889. Thomas B. Sims purchased the boat in 1902 renaming it the Lotus Sims. The Lotus Sims operated between St. Louis, MO and Nashville, TN until it burned in 1903. French’s New Sensation No. 2 was one of two showboats constructed in 1883 for Eugene Robinson named Floating Palace. A.B. French purchased the boat and renamed it New Sensation No. 2 in 1894. It was the fourth of five showboats owned by French named New Sensation. The first, second, and fifth were named New Sensation; the third and fourth were named New Sensation No.1 and New Sensation No 2. New Sensation No. 1 and New Sensation No.2 were popular, attracting the best entertainment acts at the time. French operated the two boats simultaneously at different places along the Ohio and upper Mississippi Rivers. In the winter the two ships operated in the lower Mississippi River. New Sensation No. 2 burned in 1900 while in port at Elmwood Landing, LA. The Peters Lee was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1899 for the Lee Line. The boat operated as Lee Line’s commercial vessel between St. Louis, MO and Memphis, TN. The boat was rerouted between Memphis, TN and Cincinnati, OH in 1904. The Rees Lee was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1906 as the S.S. Brown for Captain Ed Nowland. The Lee Line purchased the boat and changed its name to Rees Lee in 1909. The Rees Lee operated as the Lee Line’s commercial vessel between Memphis, TN and St. Louis, MO from 1910 to 1915. Captains Peters Lee and D.W. Wishard purchased the boat in 1915 changing its name to the Majestic. The Stacker Lee was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1902 for the Lee Line. The Stacker Lee operated between Memphis, TN and St. Louis, MO until it sank in 1916. The T.C. Power was a sternwheel packet constructed in 1897 for the North American Trading and Transportation Company. The boat operated between Dawson, Yukon Territory in Canada to St. Michaels, AK. It was one of the North American Trading and Transport’s fastest ships during the Klondike Gold Rush.