W. P. Snyder Jr.

Ohio History

Snyder Paddlewheel

This boat was a workhorse in its day. The W. P. Snyder Jr. ferried barges of coal for Carnegie Steel and Crucible Steel Co. for almost 30 years. It was the last stern-wheeled towboat to operate in the U.S. We marveled at the four 28-foot-long boilers below that powered the engines to run the paddlewheel, towing the barges at only eight miles per hour. You might be surprised that Snyder still runs; at least after the latest repair to the hull (which only cost $1.5 million!).

Model Riverboat

Ohio History

The Pioneer

Is it hard to believe this model steamer actually worked? It’s 1:12 scale, 24 feet long, resembles a packet boat used to tow barges, and sports miniature railings, rigging, and even window sashes. The paddle wheel contains 412 wooden pieces! It was hard to imagine the man who built it actually sailing it down the Muskingum River—but we saw a photograph of him riding on it!

Ohio River Museum

Ohio History

Buckeye State

Stepping forward in time less than a century, we saw the river transformed by the steamboat. Burning coal to run a steam boiler which turned the paddle wheel, this locomotive of the river slashed time and cost in transporting farm goods and coal. The Ohio River Museum had lots of nice scale models of the classy boats. This one, the Buckeye State, holds the speed record of 43 hours from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh. Wow, that seems like a snail’s pace to us!