1870’s – Steamer DeSmet

1870’s – Steamer DeSmet

Some steamboats carried as many as 125 passengers and 2,000 bales of cotton.  When they came up the river, they carried thousands of sacks of salt along with cargo of sugar, molasses, and dry goods, which they could trade in the backcountry, before loading up with...
1870’s – Steamboat Dining Room

1870’s – Steamboat Dining Room

Early Jackson County chronicler W.E. Bevens describes the steamboats this way:  “To those early pioneers, so long forced to do without luxuries, they seemed the acme of elegance, with their bands of music, their calliopes, handsome cabins, tables adorned with...
1870’s – The Steamboat Walt

1870’s – The Steamboat Walt

The steamboat Walt was a truly elegant steamer.  Its 43 staterooms were lavishly furnished, but the 10 set aside for women were fitted like rooms in a fine hotel, with imported furnishings.  The cabin was covered with the finest velvet carpet, with all furniture...
1870’s – Robert E. Lee Saloon in Jacksonport

1870’s – Robert E. Lee Saloon in Jacksonport

Said by residents to be the original Tunstall Tavern in Jacksonport, renamed the Robert E. Lee saloon after the Civil War, this was a favorite watering hole for men of the town.  The outside stairway, large central chimney, and upper gallery place it architecturally...