The ''Columbia'', sometimes called the Steamer ''Columbia'', was a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

excursion boat on which 87 people died, on the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

on July 5, 1918, across from Creve Coeur, between Peoria and

Pekin, Illinois Pekin () is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area, a ...

Pre-disaster

The ''Columbia'' was built at

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Cl ...

in 1897. Originally a

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

, it was converted to an

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

boat in 1905. In 1912, a well-respected captain, Herman F. Mehl of Peoria, formed the Herman F. Mehl Excursion Company, and bought the ''Columbia'' from Captain Walter Blair of

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

. In autumn 1917, the ship was rebuilt at the Howard Ship Company's Mound City yards, in time for the 1918 excursion season. Transcribed by Desiree Burrell Rodcay. (Warning: Site uses ad popups.) Mehl spent almost $18,000 on renovations to meet safety standards, after which the federal inspectors called the ''Columbia'' "the safest boat on western waters".

Last voyage

The ''Columbia'' excursion of July 5, 1918 was hosted by Pekin's South Side Social Club. The club sold 563 tickets Transcribed by Desiree Burrell Rodcay. at the price of 50 cents, or 25 cents for children. One hundred of the passengers were picked up at Kingston Mines, the boat leaving at 7:30 p.m.; the rest were picked up in Pekin. The boat left Pekin at 8:15 p.m. The ''Columbia'' docked at Al Fresco Park along the river in Richwoods Township (and now Peoria Heights) for 30 minutes, then returned downstream. Just after passing under the Peoria and Pekin Union Railway bridge, just upstream from Wesley City (now Creve Coeur), the boat encountered dense fog, which a passenger described as "like going from sunshine into darkness". The pilot lost control of the vessel, which then drifted towards the

Peoria County, Illinois Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

side of the river. Captain Mehl told pilot Tom Williams to make for the shore, unaware of a large hole torn in the ship's side by a submerged log. Williams attempted to cross from the overgrown Peoria County side to the Tazewell County side, where there were populated shacks and a possible landing. However, the ship's decks quickly collapsed on top of each other. It was determined that the boat sank at 12:05 a.m. on July 6. This was ascertained by the recovery of victim's watches that had stopped at that moment.

Aftermath

The same inspectors who had declared the boat safe were the ones who conducted the federal investigation. Mehl and Williams both lost their licenses. The coroner implicated Mehl, Williams, and the

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

of the ''Columbia'', but the case never went to trial. The disaster ended the bulk of the riverboat excursion business on the

Legacy

In July 1992, a memorial park to the disaster was dedicated in Creve Coeur by the Wesley City Historical Society. An additional historical marker, serving as a memorial to the tragedy, was dedicated in Pekin by the Tazewell County Historical Places Society and the

Illinois State Historical Society The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) is a private sector organization, organized as a nonprofit, that edits and disseminates public knowledge of history throughout the U.S. state of Illinois. It was founded in 1899. History and functions T ...

on July 5, 2003.

Pre-disaster

Last voyage

Aftermath

Legacy

References

Further reading