In the struggle of the packet boats against rail competition the Anchor Line put up a bold fight. To reduce operating expenses they built the Bluff City, the only stern-wheeler the Anchor Line ever built. She came out new in October 1896, built at Jeffersonville, Indiana. But fate was against her as she lasted but one year. On November 18, 1897 she caught fire at Chester, Illinois on the Mississippi River. The fire was supposed to have been started by a spark from a pipe falling among some logs. She and her cargo were a total loss. The steamer was valued at $55,000 and the cargo at $30,000.
Record of masters, mates, pilots, and engineers of merchant steam, motor, and sail vessels kept by the United States Steamboat Inspection Service in 1898.
Adam Jacobs (built 1885 in Brownsville, Pa.) at port. Vessel had electric lights and an arc searchlight (seen at far right), one of the first see in the region.
This album of cyanotype prints documents the early construction of the Mississippi and Illinois River Canal, also known as the Hennepin Canal. Each image comes with explanatory captions on the back side. The images document the first months of construction on the Mississippi and Illinois River Canal, commonly known as the Hennepin Canal. The construction pictured is near the Mississippi and Rock rivers while working on Lock 36 and Lock 37.
The prints cover much of the construction involved in building canals in the 19th century, and include portrayals of excavation and dredge work, extension and widening of rivers work on Carr Island (in the western portion of the Rock River), use of dynamite in lock building, pile driving, construction on concrete abutments, and other equipment and processes involved. Also included are images of the camps of workers and engineers.
Each image is captioned with a date and description of the image, often including names of identifiable workers and engineers.
Most of the images show actual construction, including the extension and widening of rivers, massive excavation and dredge work, work around Carr Island in the far western portion of the Rock River, the construction of embankments, and the use of dynamite to begin the lock building process. Other photographs show piling and pile driving, the camps of the workers, and completed cuts. The captions each note the month in which photographs are taken, and often name in the engineer in charge of the work and contractor.