Probably the most common postcard of a steamboat on the Tombigbee River is a view of the Steamer Ouachita. It is a very attractive image that tells a fascinating story. It is a story of disaster, commercial interest and politics.
In January 1906, Tombigbee River trade was still an important part of the economic life of Columbus. The Steamboat Vienna connected Columbus with the large markets and merchants of Mobile. Just as important was the connection the Vienna provided Columbus with the small river communities such as Pickensville and Vienna, Alabama, that were part of the Columbus trade area.
The Vienna was a 176 ton, 155 feet by 26 feet by 4.5 feet stern-wheeler built in 1898 specifically for the Columbus river trade. On Jan. 19, 1906, while headed up river to Columbus, the Vienna struck timber that had fallen into the river during repair work on the Columbus M&O Railroad trestle. The timber had floated downstream and became a snag, called a “dead head.” The Vienna, carrying 250 bales of cotton and 2,200 sacks of cotton seed, struck it and sank at Moore’s Bluff near present day Camp Pratt.
Another steamer was needed for the Columbus trade and quickly its merchants “made arrangements” with Capt. John Quill of Mobile and Capt. T.B. Moore of Montgomery to secure the Ouachita, a large steamer for the Columbus. She had been built in 1899, had been employed in the Alabama River and lower Tombigbee trade.
The Ouachita’s route was quickly redrawn so that instead of terminating her up river voyage at Demopolis, Alabama, she would continue to Columbus. The first week in February 1906 the Ouachita headed up river for Columbus and arrived on the Feb. 6. However, her arrival was over a day late because of low water. It had taken her about 15 hours to make a “tedious” 31 river mile trip from Pickensville. Because of the low water the Ouachita had to “see-saw” back and forth across the river and it took her nearly two hours to get past the shoals where the sunken Vienna still rested.
Low water continued to be a problem that spring and the Ouachita was limited in the number of trips she could make to Columbus. In response to the continued need the Cornelia, a small boat, was put into service transporting cotton and merchandise.
The Cornelia had been built about 1904 in Columbus by Coleman & Co of Jackson, Tennessee, “principally to haul staves” for a lumber mill and she operated mostly in the Columbus – Aberdeen area. In an unfortunate accident in 1906, a Cornelia deckhand, Ed Hillard, was washing his clothes on the lower deck when he fell into the river and drowned.
In the winter and spring of 1906, Mississippi Congressman Ezekiel Chandler of Corinth was actively pursuing congressional passage of appropriations for the construction of a system of locks and dams on the upper Tombigbee to make it navigatble year round. The low water of 1906 was cited as further evidence of the need for “river improvements.” Those improvements did not occur until the construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway which officially opened to commercial traffic on Jan. 10, 1985.
Between 1905 and 1908, a post card photo of the Steamer Ouachita headed up the Tombigbee River was published and immediately became a popular card across the country. Often we do not realize the fascinating story that can be told by something as everyday as a postcard.
Rufus Ward is a local historian. Email your questions about local history to him at [email protected].
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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