Howard Steamboat Museum

In 1834, 19-year-old James Howard started his shipyard on the Ohio River in Jeffersonville, IN, and began building his first boats. During its three generations, and 107-year history, the Howard Shipyard built over 3,000 vessels, and created the largest inland shipyard in America.

The story of the family, and their famous riverboats, are well preserved in the mansion and museum.

The 22-room Romanesque Revival home was built across from the shipyard in 1894. The woodworking craftsmanship is visible in the interior, reminiscent of their elegant steamboats. Steamboat enthusiasts can get lost in the museum’s collection of thousands of artifacts.

Among artifacts on display are items from the legendary Robert E. Lee, the Natchez, and the Howard-built J. M. White. The largest single artifact is the shaft of the original paddlewheel of the Delta Queen. The museum has a collection of 5,000 photographs, origina shipbuilding tools, documents, paintings, and scaled models from the steamboat era.

The Howard’s control of the shipyard ended in 1941, when it was purchased by the U.S. Navy for World War II and construction of ‘Landing Ship Tanks’ or ‘LSTs’, sub-chasers, and other ocean-going vessels.

The Howard tradition of shipbuilding continues today as Jeffboat, and is “the oldest continually operated inland shipyard in the country.”

A bell cast and made in Cincinnati, in 1874, for the original Mississippi Queen, which ended operation in 2008, is on display. It’s an enduring symbol of the magnificent era of shipbuilding that is being preserved today.

www.howardsteamboatmuseum.org