The ''Island Queen'' was a series of two

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

sidewheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s built in 1896 and 1925 respectively. Both vessels were passenger carriers cruising along the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

rivers as both an

excursion An excursion is a trip, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportatio ...

boat and

tramp steamer A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to freight liners. A steamship engaged in the tramp trade is sometimes called ...

. The first ''Island Queen'' burned in 1922 in a fire which destroyed several other vessels. The second ''Island Queen'' was destroyed in 1947 when her chief engineer, using a welding torch, accidentally cut into her fuel tank. ''Island Queen'' was reduced to her steel frame, and was scrapped by a local company.

First ''Island Queen''

The first ''Island Queen'' was a sidewheel

wooden

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

steamboat built in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1896. She was owned by Coney Island Company and used to

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

passengers between Cincinnati and Coney Island amusement park. She was christened May 16, 1896 by the daughter of Lee H Brooks, Coney Island Company's chairman. In off-seasons when the park was closed she operated as a tramp steamer on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, going as far downstream as

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. On April 27, 1922, her forward hurricane deck collapsed, injuring 27 children and paralyzing one. That same year on November 4, ''Island Queen'' was severely burned and decommissioned after a fire engulfed several steamboats in Cincinnati harbor.

Second ''Island Queen''

The second ''Island Queen'' was built in parts beginning in 1923. Midland Barge Company of Midland, Pennsylvania built her steel hull, designed as a matched pair with the ''Cincinnati'' for the Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Company and John W. Hubbard. After taking delivery on the hull and naming it ''Louisville'', the owner instead resold it to the Coney Island Company. Coney Island Company finished the boat in Cincinnati on April 18, 1925.Way (1994), p. 228. The new ''Island Queen'' measured 285-feet long and could carry 4,000 people. The 1000-ton sidewheeler was powered by oil-burning steam engines with six boilers. It was fully completed and christened in Cincinnati by the Coney Island Company on April 18, 1925. Like her predecessor, ''Island Queen'' was used for excursions to Coney Island amusement park and tramping between New Orleans, and as far upstream as

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Coney Island Company hired musicians to entertain the passengers.

Sidney Desvigne Sidney Desvigne (September 11, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played in a large number of noted 1910s and 1920s-era New Orleans Jazz ensembles, including Leonard Bechet's Silver Bell Band, the Maple Leaf Orchestr ...

, a coronet player from

, recruited musicians from his hometown to perform on excursions for the Cincinnati market. In 1929, his band included Henry Julian, Ransom Knowling, Walter "Fats" Pinchon, Percy Servier, and Gene Ware. While in Pittsburgh, on September 9, 1947, her chief engineer struck her fuel tank with a welding torch, causing a fire and a series of explosions that eventually reduced ''Island Queen'' to her steel structure, and killed 19 crew. No passengers were aboard at the time of the fire, but about 40 members of the crew were aboard. Force from the explosions could be felt throughout downtown Pittsburgh, shattering windows in nearby buildings. There were even reports of people being knocked down on streets close to the dock.

References

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External links

Island Queen steamboat
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
Island Queen (steamboat)
Indiana Memory Digital Collections. Paddle steamers of the United States Passenger ships of the United States Steamboats of the Ohio River Steamboats of the Mississippi River