Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Riverboat photograph collection, 1890s-1920s
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Riverboat photograph collection
- Dates
- 1890s-1920s (inclusive)18901929
- Quantity
- 48 photographs
- Collection Number
- P0063
- Summary
- The riverboat photograph collection contains images of river boats on the Green, Colorado, and San Juan rivers in southern Utah.
- Repository
-
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860
Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Unpowered barges, rowboats, and skiffs were used on the Green, Colorado, and San Juan rivers (folder 1) from the 1860s on, but the first powered craft built to navigate the Green and Colorado Rivers between Green River and Moab, Utah, was the MAJOR POWELL, a round-bottom, steam-powered launch built in Illinois and shipped to Green River, Utah, by rail. Being underpowered, it was unsuccessful and was abandoned by 1894. Next was the UNDINE (folder 2), built by a Denver businessman, which in 1901 became was the first to actually make the upriver run from the confluence of the Green and Colorado to Moab, Utah. It was lost near there in an accident in the spring of 1902. The first truly successful craft was the WILMONT (folder 3) built by Edwin Wolverton in 1903. It served on the river hauling passengers and freight until its hull was damaged by ice in winter of 1908, after which the machinery was salvaged and the boat abandoned. Wolverton built and used several other similar craft until he left the area in 1912. Other craft on the river around the same time included Milton Oppenheimer's PADDY ROSS and a series of barges (folder 4). The most grandiloquent boat by far was the ill-fated CITY OF MOAB (folder 5), built at a cost of some $15,000 in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1905. Fifty- five feet long, powered by two 30 horsepower gasoline engines, she was much too large for the shallow Green River, and after one attempt to reach the confluence with the Colorado, was tied up on the riverbank and left for the winter. Stripped of all her fancy cabins and converted to a steam powered stern-wheeler, the boat was renamed the CLIFF DWELLER (folder 6) in 1906, and another attempt made at a ferry service between Green River and Moab. This too was unsuccessful, and she was finally sold to a Salt Lake City businessman who renamed her the VISTA and used her as a tourist craft on the Great Salt Lake for many years. The only people to really be successful at hauling freight and passengers on the Colorado were the Baldwin brothers, owners of the Moab Garage Company (folder 7), who built and used a number of powered barges and scows in the 1920s.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The riverboats collection, P0063, contains black and white photographs of early river craft used on the Green and Colorado Rivers between the towns of Green River, Utah, and Moab, Utah. Also included are some photographs of freight boats used during the brief mining boom on the San Juan River, ferry boats, miscellaneous rowboats, and other riverboat-related images. This collection was received some years ago in the Special Collections department, but no records were kept of its provenance. In addition, when it was first processed the images were put in folders with no real relation to their chronology. Accordingly, in 2002, the collection was re-processed, and the images were rearranged in chronological order, and renumbered. Included in this box will be a copy of an article in the CANYON LEGACY, vol. 1 n. 5, "A Foolhardy Undertaking: Utah's Pioneer Steamboaters," which recounts the history of most of these craft. Descriptions or captions found on the image will be noted in quotes.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Preferred Citation
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The photographs in the first seven folders grouped by the particular boat or company that operated the boats, while those in the last folder are miscellaneous. Collection is arranged chronolgically.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Utah riverboatsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | San Juan River boats
|
1890s |
| 1 | 2 | UNDINE
|
1901-1902 |
| 1 | 3 | WILMONT
|
1903-1908 |
| 1 | 4 | WILMONT, PADDY ROSS, other boats
|
circa 1905-1906 |
| 1 | 5 | CITY OF MOAB
|
1905 |
| 1 | 6 | CLIFF DWELLER
|
1906 |
| 1 | 7 | Moab Garage Company boats
|
1920s |
| 1 | 8 | Miscellaneous river craft
|
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- River boats--Utah--Photographs
Geographical Names
- Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Photographs
- Green River (Wyo.-Utah)--Photographs
- San Juan River (Colo.-Utah--)Photographs
Form or Genre Terms
- Photographic prints--1895-1910
