The Van Buren press., 1912-02-17

Last Monday the steam ferry, Caro-.
|, line. was tied mp above the landing n
Van Buren. near the location OF the 10
cline that gAvs the railways access tt
the transfer boat on which the river
was crossed before the building Of tbs
Frisco bridge. and = notable factor IN
the transportation problem Of this sec
tion passed out Of existence.
When the ferry WAS established al
Van Buren. nobody knows. 1t has been
, In the possession of the Drennen family
no weyer, for 80 years. and they did
not establish It, Like all other things.
1t has had Its ups and downs, but for
the greatest part Of its existence the
ferry has been exceedingly profitable to
its owners.
The Caroline WAS the last Of long
line that has served the public and her
owners we'll. Her predecessors were
numerous, but the Caroline WAS the
best and longest In service OF the lot.
P. d. Scott. who had the active man
sgement Of the ferry for the last IS
years, says he considers her about as
near perfection as . ferry boat cap be
made. The travelling public may not
fully agree with him. They used to
call her scrap heap, declare her boil
ers wouidp't hold watsr, unless 1t WAS
muddy, and sundry and divers other
things derogatory, but now that she
has passed out OF service. they must
give her credit for a remarkable record
During her ten years service there
WAS not a serious accident on her there
was not n single limb broken nor head
of stock lost. This record extends
further than the period the Caroline
WAS in commission and covers the
whole 35 years Of Mr.. SCOTS manage
meut. Thirty.fve years on the water
and not life lost. Only rivermeD real
ize the danger Of a mis.step and sppre'
ciate this wonderful record But more
wonderful than this is the fact that not
II head Of stock was lost. 1t is no unus-
nal thing for cattle to crowd one snoth-
er off boat. and the victims are often
80 crippled they are helpless In the
water.
But the Caroline has made her last
trip and the Van Buren ferry has pass
ed into history. John Drennen came
Arkansas in 1928, settling at Columbus,
and he found the ferry In operation at
that time Some OF the jibes at the
ferry boat during the last few years
would tend to create the inference that
be came over with Columbus in the
Caroline. columbus. the town, Is
now unknown. Old citizens, the "old.
est inhabitant, remember that the
name WAS given to a settlement at the
lower end Of the now corporate limits
OF Van Buren, At that time Thomas
Phillips was operating a fiat boat ferry
At the western edge OF Van Buren at a
place called Phillips Point, This has
also been swallowed up years ago In
the making OF the Crawford county
metropolis. The ferry WAS propelled
by sweeps when the river WAS high,
and by poles when 1t was low. 1t was
a link in the highway to the west and
the Pacific coast, on what WAS later
known M the ''25th Parallel Trail, -
the favored route for tho first transcon.
tincntsl railway. the building Of which
but for the war which prevented, would
have entirely changed the history OF
the Mississippi valley and the vert.
Tn plans for building were abandoned
with the breaking ont OF the war be-.
tween the states.
In 1882, John Drennsn bought ont
Phillips As previously stated the
original ferry WAS = Eat boat, and u
fat boat 1t continued TO be until the
latter part OF the sos, when Il. e,
Hsvman WAS brought ont from Cincin.
natl by Griffith, Scott, Bostick, Penny
wright Il Co., then In business IN the
locations now occupied by John Schsap
g. Sons and Mullen & Clinton = sulOon,
| 10 take charge OF their -four and grist
mill ut Van Buren.
Mr., Hsymsn built the FIRST power
boat, a rotary tread, that had two
blind horses operating It This style
OF boat was In operation In tho early
days OF the war when blnnt captured
the town, His troops seized and burn
ed the boat. The remaining years Of
the war n fat boat accommodated those
who desired to cross the river, all the
time Mr. DreDnen remained IN charge
OF the ferry with various managers,
W. T, England and his father were
managers al tbe time II WAS = horse
power affair, They gave up the man
sgement after or 8 years, upon a bill
having passed the legislature allowing
two ferries within . mills OF each other,
They went to Cincinnati to purchase =
boat for the interests that planned Al
opposition ferry When the ferry boat
Mary Ellen reached Van Bursn the law
hsd been repealed Snd the boat WAS sold