Flashback - November 4, 1853 – The Monongahela Belle
Flashback - November 4, 1853 – The Monongahela Belle
On November 4, 1853, the last steamboat to be manufactured in Morgantown was launched. According to Samuel Wiley’s 1883 The History of Monongahela County (page 542) the Monongahela Belle was launched, “at Morgantown, at Decker's Creek boatyard."
The Monongalia Mirror in February of 1854 described it as a “splendid new boat - having been tastefully finished and furnished.” The article goes on to state that, “the Belle, though a smaller Boat, will compare favorably with any of her mammoth sisters upon our waters” and that the builder of the hull, David Lynch, “has exhibited the mechanical perfection of his art” (1).
During its time in service, the steamboat carried passengers, “Important Dispatches,” goods, and groceries (2, 3). After less than a year in service, the boat was sold in June of 1854 (4). An Iowa newspaper in May 1855 reported that The Monongahela Belle was “taking on freight for various points up that [Des Moines] River (5). Later that year The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer stated that the boat was, “put into the Wheeling and Steubenville trade, in place of the ‘Viroqua’ which is undergoing repairs.” An advertisement in the same paper states that the steamer "will run as a regular packet between Wheeling and Parkersburg, leaving Wheeling every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Returning will leave Parkersburg every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. For freight or passage, apply on board” (6).
The steamer would continue in service until November 1857 when a boiler exploded near Columbus, Ohio. The New Albany Daily Ledger on November 21, 1857 noted that (7):
By the explosion of the Monongahela Belle on Saturday last, John Nelson was blown from the hurricane deck and badly scalded. The cook was blown through the cook-room into the river, and was rescued from a watery grave by the life-boat. Two of the firemen (white, men) were so dreadfully scalded and blackened, that it was difficult for some time to determine whether they were white or black. W. Nelson, who was at the wheel, escaped unhurt. The accident is supposed to have been occasioned by the water in the boilers getting too low. The loss will be about two thousand dollars, the fore cabin, pilot house, and chimneys having been blown away. The accident occurred three miles from Columbus, near the chalk banks.
Repairs would evidently be made to the boat and it would continue in service. Interestingly, an article in the New Albany Daily Ledger (8) provides some insight into the men that worked the steamboats.
[A] difficulty had occurred at Jacksonport, Ark., between Mr. Reed, of that place, and the engineer of the Monongahela Belle, and that in the melee Mr. Pollock, mate of the Belle, had stepped in and knocked down Reed with a brickbat. Pollock escaped at the time, and the next morning, after arming himself, put out in a skiff and floated down White river. He was overtaken, and resisting arrest, Mr. Burt, who had a warrant for his arrest, snapped a gun at him. Pollock then fired, wounding Burt in a dreadful manner. Other persons joining in the pursuit, he was arrested and taken back to Jacksonport.
The boat would again be sold in July of 1858 to run between Jacksonport and Buffalo City (9). Finally, the steamer would suffer a fatal crash in March of 1859 and sink “in about 40 feet water” (10). The New Albany Daily Ledger reported that the boat was then repurposed, “It is the intention of Capt. G. to take the machinery from the wreck and place it in a new boat, the hull of which he has contracted for” (11). As sort of a side note, the Monongahela Belle was also mentioned in the 1956 Walt Disney Productions Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (12).
--For errors or other input please contact Chris Dale at cdale@mub.org.--
1 Monongalia Mirror, Feb 04, 1854 (Contains considerable info on the boat)
2 Monongalia Mirror, Mar 11, 1854
3 Monongalia Mirror, Apr 15, 1854
4 Monongalia Mirror, Jun 17, 1854
5 The Daily Gate City, May 18, 1855
6 Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Sep 18, 1855
7 New Albany Daily Ledger Nov 21 1857
8 New Albany Daily Ledger Jul 02 1858
9 Cincinnati Daily Commercial Jul 17 1858
10 Louisville Daily Courier Mar 08 1859