Verne Swain

Verne Swain refers to three steamboats built by the Swain Shipyard of Stillwater, Minnesota. Swain built the first one in 1886, the second one in 1904, and the last one in 1913.[1]

Verne Swain
History
Name: First Verne Swain
Owner: Acme Steam Packet Company, Dixon Brothers Lee Lines
Route: Mississippi River
Builder: Swain Shipyard
Cost: $10,000
Completed: 1889
General characteristics
Length: 120 ft (37 m)
Beam: 22.6 ft (6.9 m)
Draught: 5 ft (1.5 m)
Decks: 3
Propulsion: Steam powered, sternwheeler
Verne Swain
History
Name: Second Verne Swain
Owner: Captain George Prince; Lyons Brothers; Valley Line Steamers
Route: Mississippi River
Builder: Swain Shipyard
Completed: 1904
General characteristics
Length: 131 ft (40 m)
Beam: 28.5 ft (8.7 m)
Draft: 4.4 ft (1.3 m)
Propulsion: Steam powered, sternwheeler
Verne Swain
History
Name: Third Verne Swain
Route: Illinois River; Pittsburgh–Wheeling, WV packet
Builder: Swain Shipyard
Completed: 1913
General characteristics
Length: 186 ft (57 m)
Beam: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Draft: 4.9 ft (1.5 m)
Propulsion: Steam powered, sidewheeler

First Verne Swain

The first Verne Swain was a steamboat built by David Swain of Stillwater, Minnesota, and put into packet service between Clinton, Iowa and Davenport, Iowa by Swain in 1886.[1]

In 1889, John Streckfus purchased the Verne Swain from the Swain Shipyard in Stillwater, Minnesota for $10,000.[2] Verne Swain had a cargo deck, a passenger deck, and a Texas deck. The boat was propelled by two side-mounted paddlewheels.[3] This was his first steamboat acquisition for the Acme Packet Company of Rock Island, Illinois. He ran Verne Swain on daily service, leaving each morning from Clinton, Iowa at 7am, with arrivals scheduled for Davenport, Iowa at 10am. The return trips started from Davenport at 3pm scheduled to arrive at the home port at 8:15pm.[2]

in 1891, Eagle Packet Company purchased the Verne Swain and commenced packet service between Peoria, Illinois and St. Louis.[4]

in 1900, Dixon Brothers of Peoria, Illinois acquired the Verne Swainand renamed it Speed.[5][1]

Second Verne Swain

Also built at the Swain Shipyard in Stillwater, the second Verne Swain was designed for excursion. Completed in 1904, the second Verne Swain was a sternwheeler with a wooden hull ordered for running excursions from Peoria, Illinois to the World's Fair in St. Louis. The steamer was passed through various owners while serving Mississippi and Tennessee. The ship sunk in August 1929 at Dismal Point, Arkansas.[1]

Third Verne Swain

In 1913, Swain Shipyard completed the last known steamboat to be named, Verne Swain. First running on the Illinois River as an excursion boat, Captain Fred Hornbrook acquired Verne Swain in 1918 to deploy the 186-foot sidewheeler as a packet between Wheeling, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Later, Verne Swain was sold and reassigned to excursions.[1]

The steamer persisted long enough to be renamed Rose Island, Roosevelt, and City of Memphis.

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References
  1. Frederick Way, Jr. (1994). Way's Packet Directory, 1848–1994. Revised. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. pp. 467–468.
  2. Annie Amantea Blum (2017). "Introduction". The Steamer Admiral. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
  3. Brent T. Peterson. Stillwater. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 80.
  4. Charles A. and LaDonna Bobbitt (1998). Peoria: A Postcard History. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 18.
  5. Annie Amantea Blum (2017). "Chapter 1.". The Steamer Admiral. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.

Further reading
  • Kathryn Strand Koutsky and Linda Koutsky (2006). "Boat Days." Minnesota Vacation Days. Afton, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
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