Avalon (Excursion boat, 1948-1961)
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- Created Date
- 1954
- Description
BOAT DESCRIPTION: Sternwheel
BOAT TYPE: Excursion
BUILT: 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the Idlewild; renamed Avalon in February 1948
FORMERLY: Idlewild
BECAME: Belle of Louisville in 1962
FINAL DISPOSITION: Sold at auction in 1962 to Jefferson County Fiscal Court, Louisville, Kentucky and renamed Belle of Louisville
OWNERS: J. Herod Gorsage (1948); Steamer Avalon, Incorporated (1950); Jefferson County Fiscal Court, Louisville, Kentucky (1962)
OFFICERS & CREW: Captain Ernest E. Wagner (1961); Clarke (Doc) Hawley (first mate, 1961)
RIVERS: Mississippi River; Ohio River; Missouri River; Kanawha River; Tennessee River; Cumberland River; Illinois River, St. Croix River
OTHER INFORMATION: Ways - 0403; Renamed in 1948 by J. Herod Gorsage, Peoria, Illinois to grant the deathbed wish of Captain Ben Winters who had first worked on the former Avalon; after being sold in 1950 to Steamer Avalon based at Cincinnati, she operated excursions on the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Kanawha, etc. until sold in 1962 to Jefferson County Fiscal Court. As the Avalon she had several minor accidents, the worst of which happened while entering the Emsworth Lock, Ohio River on May 24, 1958. Engine failure caused her to hit the lower gate and 23 were injured. In May 1961 she hit a low overhead wire at Nitro, West Virginia on the Kanawha River and damaged her stacks. In 1961 she became celebrated taking a boatload of Girl Scouts Memphis to New Orleans and another delegation back to Memphis during which Captain Ernest E. Wagner and first mate Clarke Hawley were joined up as official Girl Scouts
- Partner
- Recollection Wisconsin
- Contributing Institution
- University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
- Subjects
- Sternwheel excursions
Excursion boats
Mississippi River
Ohio River
Missouri River
Kanawha River
Tennessee River
Cumberland River
Illinois River
St. Croix River
Wisconsin--Prairie du Chien - Type
- image
- Standardized Rights Statement
- Copyright Undetermined:The copyright and related rights status of this Item has been reviewed by the organization that has made the Item available, but the organization was unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the Item. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
- Rights
- This image cannot be copied or reproduced without the permission of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Murphy Library, Special Collections
- Chicago citation style
- Avalon (Excursion boat, 1948-1961). 1954. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SER6W3GVMIP3C8N. (Accessed March 29, 2024.)
- APA citation style
- (1954) Avalon (Excursion boat, 1948-1961). Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SER6W3GVMIP3C8N
- MLA citation style
- Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America <https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SER6W3GVMIP3C8N>.