A steamboat in central Illinois? Yup! The steamship President was grounded in Alton IL and cut up into truckable sized pieces in 2009. She was then shipped 80 miles to St. Elmo IL. The original plans were to reconstruct her on "Water Tower Lake" which is just off interstate 70 in St. Elmo. The owner had agreements with the city of St. Elmo but the election of a new mayor and city officials shortly after The President arrived saw that agreement change. The owner then moved the boat a second time about 1/2 mile to the parking lot of an abandon business on the other side of the interstate. It was not long after that move that the ship was moved a third time about 24 miles to this location. She is now about 100 miles away from the river.
She was built in 1924 and then known as The Cincinnati. She was originally an overnight packet boat which carried passengers and freight from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Louisville, Kentucky. Her first trip was to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
In 1929, she was acquired by the Streckfus Company which briefly continued her use as a packet boat but then laid her up, until 1932. Streckfus moved her to her new home port of St. Louis, Missouri. Over the next two years, the ship was converted to become the largest excursion boat in America. The entire superstructure was rebuilt in steel; and a two-deck-high ballroom was added, as well as a bandstand. It was at this time that she received her new name, President.
Newly converted and newly named, she opened for business in 1934. Streckfus advertised her as "the New 5 Deck Luxury Super Steamer, Biggest and Finest On The Upper Mississippi". She continued tramping (having no fixed schedule or published ports of call) until 1941. In 1940, she was displaced from her position as flagship of the Streckfus line by the S.S. Admiral.
In 1941, she switched her home port to New Orleans. Because fuel oil was restricted and many of the young crewmen joined the armed forces with the nation's entry into World War II, tramping was discontinued, and the cruises stayed close to home. After the war, President remained in New Orleans for many years as a popular music venue, featuring concerts by national acts such as U2, Cyndi Lauper, Men at Work, The Little River Band, and The Producers, and performances by New Orleans artists like Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, and The Cold.
Because the wind made maneuvering the big boat difficult, she had her two side wheels removed and replaced by 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) diesel engines in 1978.
She was sold in 1985 and returned to St. Louis as her home port. While there, she was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark on Dec. 20, 1989. She was retired from active service in 2000. On July 27, 2011, the Department of the Interior issued a press release that included the following line; ".. The President, a steamboat in St. Elmo, Illinois, had its designation as a National Historic Landmark withdrawn because of a loss of historic integrity." The ship was removed from the National Register entirely.
For more info visit The Online Steamship Museum page on The President.
If you watch the video from the TV Series - Monster Moves:
Monster Moves - The Pride of the Mississippi
you can see her last voyage, see them cut her up and truck her off to St. Elmo. Once you get to GZ you will recognize many of the part of the ship from the video. The parts are so large they are readily recognizable on Google Maps. (BTW - this pin is on the wheelhouse for the steamboat - it is NOT on the cache! You will NOT need to go this far into the area.) When I talked with the owner, Dave Campbell in April of 2015 his plans were to reconstruct the ship with as much original material as possible and make it into an entertainment venue. The plans are to put it somewhere near the interstate highways running through Effingham IL.
Thanks to 1954 Gator for the cache container and providing trasport to GZ for the hide!