New South

Hartford, John

picture

Fleetwood (Steamboat)
Jim Montgomery (Steamboat)
New South (Steamboat)
Packets
Steamboats

Madison (Ind.)

This boat was built for Shelby and Perkins, wealthy Henderson, Kentucky firm, for the Evansville and St. Louis trade in 1887 by the Howards at Jeffersonville, Indiana. She was 257 x 46.2 x 7.0 feet. Tonnage: gross, 932; net, 846 tons. Her engines were of 20-inch diameter with 7 1/2 foot stroke. She came out with compound engines which were removed in 1892 and put on the Grey Eagle. The New South was too large for her trade and was placed in the Louisville - Cincinnati run in opposition to the Mail Line in 1890-1891. She later ran the Cincinnati - Memphis - New Orleans trade with occasional trips to St. Louis. While descending the Ohio River near the Cincinnati gas works on August 14, 1897, she was backed into the bank. Her rudder pin was broken and the rudder unshipped; damages were slight. The license of pilot Wm. W. Agnew was suspended 60 days for unskilfulness. When ascending the Ohio River on December 31, 1897 she collided with the Defender descending with a tow of loaded coal boats a short distance below Cloverport, Kentucky, resulting in a loss of $3000. The cause of the collision was investigated and C. F. Owens, pilot on the New South was found guilty of negligence. His license as master and pilot was suspended 90 days. While she and the City of St. Louis were running excursions in the harbor of New Orleans, they collided on May 10, 1902 without loss of life but the New South was damaged $200. The case was tried before local inspectors and Captain Frank Otterdorfer, master of the New South had his license suspended 15 days - violating Rules 2 and 24 of Pilot Rules for Western Rivers. L. A. Mahaffey, pilot of the St. Louis had his license suspended for violating Rules 2, 7 and 24 of the same rules. In January 1906 a syndicate of St. Louisians organized the St. Louis and New Orleans Packet Company and purchased the New South. However, she evidently did not run in that trade very long as she was dismantled in 1906 at Madison, Indiana.

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Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library