Becky Thatcher (Packet, 1968/1969 - )

Summary

• BOAT DESCRIPTION: Sternwheel
• BOAT TYPE: Packet
• BUILT: 1926 as the Mississippi III; renamed Becky Thatcher and restored between 1968 and 1969
• FORMERLY: Mississippi III
• OWNERS: St. Louis Investment Company (1965); Ohio Showboat Drama Inc. (1975)
• RIVERS: Mississippi River; Muskingum River
• OTHER INFORMATION: Built in 1926 as the Mississippi III, an inspection boat for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, retired in 1961; sold to Mark Twain Enterprises of St. Louis, Missouri in 1963 and in 1964 towed to Hannibal, Missouri to serve as a restaurant and museum. In 1965 she was purchased by the St. Louis Investment Company and towed back to St. Louis; renamed Becky Thatcher and extensively restored between June 1968 and February 1969. The boilers were removed and in 1973 the engines also. She broke her mooring lines in 1969 during a storm and was swept downstream with 100 people aboard, passed two bridges but didn't suffer any severe damages. The restaurant closed in 1974. In 1975 she was sold to a group of interested citizens of Marietta, Ohio who planned to bring her to Marietta as part of the Bicentennial project. They formed a not-for-profit corporation, Ohio Showboat Drama Inc. In September 1975 the Becky Thatcher was towed to Marietta, Ohio. In 1976 the production "Showboat" was performed by the Mid-Ohio Valley Players on the decks, and an adjacent barge with 3000 people watched from the shore. In August 1977 she opened as a showboat after her first deck was remodeled into a theater. One month later the second and third deck opened as a restaurant area. She is moored near the W. P. Snyder Jr. on the Muskingum River. She was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in October 1983. In 1984 she sank during a spring flood with heavy damage to her hull and superstructure, but she was raised and returned after repairs for the 1985 season
• PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Wrecked at St. Louis, Missouri