Jim Brown (Towboat, 1881-1929)

Summary

• BOAT DESCRIPTION: Sternwheel
• BOAT TYPE: Towboat
• BUILT: Brownsville, Pennsylvania, 1881
• FINAL DISPOSITION: Dismantled, June 1929
• OWNERS: 1881: Brown's Line; 1900: Combine
• OFFICERS & CREW: 1899: Captain Charles Hayes (master), Joseph Gee (pilot); 1904: Captain Jersey Blair (master), John Martin (chief engineer)
• RIVERS: Monongahela River
• OTHER INFORMATION: Ways - T1371; The Jim Brown sank in 1899 after hitting a pier of the P.R.R. railroad bridge, 100 yards below Lock 2, Monongahela River. She was caught in an eddy below the dam while downbound with a loaded tow and took a swing. The boat hit a pier almost broadside about the engine room and promptly sank in 10 feet of water; no loss of life. Once again, in March 1904, Jim Brown sank under the Glenwood bridge, Monongahela River, about five miles below her earlier accident. She was dismantled at West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, June 1929