Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28
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in excellent order for the accommodation
of parties OF pleasure. She will also
tow vessels up and down the river"
Passing back to 1892, you come upon
another strange steamboat name. 1t is
the Dandy. In that year the Dandy was
running ferry from Srallwooas Il
in the I|estc"' ',"f"r~ ~aa~
yard to Alexandria, making calls at Po-
tomac =. i.,.... $50 M
trips q % tie price Of passage las
IS cents and the captain and agent was
Joseph Johnson
In the same year, 1892. the steamboat
Potomac is still found to be running. The
name of the captain is not given in the
advertisement, which reads
1.-THE steamboat Potomac. which for
speed and accommodation is equal to any
other continues running between Nor
folk, Alexandria and Washington. She
had not then entered upon the James
river part of her schedule, which fact
probably invited reprisal by the James
River Steamboat Company entering the
Potomac river in 1924. The Potomac con-
tented herself with leaving Washington
at o'clock every Thursday morning and
Alexandria at $50, and after landing
passengers at convenient places on the
River Potomac and at Old Point Com
fort arrives at Norfolk on Friday morn
ing in time for the southern stages and
the steamboat for Richmond and Peters
burg" The fare by this steamboat from
WASHINGTON to Norfolk in 1922 was s11.
In 1922 the steamboat Surprise. under
Capt Robert Taylor. is making two
round trips daily except on Sunday. when
she makes one. between Georgetown and
Alexandria. AS late as 1922 this ferry
service must have been an old story, for
Capt Taylor announces that freight and
pa ssengers will be taken at customary
prices.
Turn back from 1892 to 1921 and you
find that the old steamboat Potomac is
running, and it is likely that that was
the year of her debut on the Potomac
river, the Rambler finding no mention OF
her name at an earlier date
In 1920 you see that the steamboat
Washington is running between Washing
ton and Aqua creek, connecting there
with stages for Fredericksburg and Rich.
mond 1t is plain that the Washington
Aqua Creek fredericksburg and Rich
mond steamboat and stage line was the
pioneer, that this was succeeded by the
Washington Potomac Creek, Fredericks
burg and Richmond steamboat and stage
line and that when the era of railroads
opened the Potomac steamboats, connect
ed with the railroad at Aqua creek.
BY means of the old notices you car
trace the steamboat Washington dowr
through the years 1919, 1918. 1877, 1S1t
into the year 1915 There you lose the
thread. In 1915 the Washington is ad
vertised to Leave the steamboat wharf
in Washington city every day. Sunday.
excepted for Alexandria and Fredericks
burg, at half-past 2 p.m.." and that by
this road and river route the hundred
miles between Baltimore and Fredericks
burg can be covered in nineteen hours
The papers of 1914 contain. so far az thu
Rambler delved. no notice of a steamboat
on the Potomac river, but it is probable
that the Washington or another boat was
in service on this river in that year be-
cause the Washington steamboat in 1S1;
appeared to have become somewhat Of
an institution. In the notices in tina
year Is no suggestion of novelty.
Having dug back through the file!
till no mention of a Potomac rive
steamboat can be found. it is per
MISSILE now, though perhaps at some
sacrifice of literary form, to retrac,
ones steps. start in at about 1880, ant
work forward. In the early thirtie:
the steamboat Washington seems t
have passed away. but one catches here
and there a reference to the Dandy