The ''Mississippi Queen'' was the second-largest paddle wheel driven river

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. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

ever built, second only to the larger ''

American Queen ''American Queen'' is said to be the largest river steamboat ever built. The ship was built in 1995 and is a six-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat, built by McDermott Shipyard for the ''Delta Queen'' Steamboat Company. Although ...

''. The ship was the largest such steamboat when she was built in 1976 by the

Delta Queen Steamboat Company The Greene Line was a line of river steamships along the Ohio River. The name was changed in 1973 to Delta Queen Steamboat Company. History The company was started in 1890 by Gordon C. Greene with Henry K. Bedford. When Gordon died in 1927 his s ...

Jeffboat Jeffboat was a shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana founded by James Howard in 1834, a builder of steamboats. The company was owned by the Howard family until it was sold leading up to World War II. Following the war, it became known as the Jeff ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and was a seven-deck recreation of a classic

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

. She was later owned by the Majestic America Line. The ''Mississippi Queen'' had 206 state rooms for a capacity of 412 guests and a crew of 157. It was 116 meters (382 ft) long, 21 meters (68 ft) wide, and displaced 3,709

metric tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

(3,364

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s). The ''Mississippi Queen'' was a genuine stern paddlewheeler with a wheel that measured 6.7 meters (22 ft) in diameter by 11 meters (36 ft) wide and weighed 77 metric tonnes (70 tons). The steamboat also featured a 44 whistle steam

calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...

, which was the largest on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

system. The ''Mississippi Queen'' was laid up in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Perry Street Wharf Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation (food), fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcesters ...

after being gutted, initially for renovation. Instead, however, the steamboat was sold for scrap in May 2009. She was towed for the last time to

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...

in March 2011 to be cut down.

In popular culture

A steamboat called the ''Mississippi Queen'' was used in the 1982 episode "Cap'n Spanky's Showboat" in the animated television series ''

The Little Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. The song 'Evangeline' written by Robbie Robertson & performed by The Band and Emmylou Harris references the boat - "Evangeline, Evangeline, curses the soul of the Mississippi Queen" The song “Mississippi Queen” released by the American rock band, Mountain, in 1972 makes reference to a dancer on the boat.

References

External links

''Mississippi Queen'' Tribute Site
Paddle steamers of the United States Steamships Passenger ships of the United States Ships built in Indiana 1976 ships Delta Queen Steamboat Company Steamboats of the Mississippi River {{Ship-stub

In popular culture

See also

References

External links