Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-16

| ~AAA - oAAASo 49,
the Chesapeake Bay
Steamship Advertise
ments From Newspa-
! pers of Many Years
| Ago Formation OF
| Stock Companies.
| N working out the history of the
steamboats, of the Potomac river
:! the Rambler finds the first refer
| eacs to q steam ferry between
iGeorgetown. Washington and Alexan-
| dria lii 1872. though the first steam
ferry boat between those places mus,
| nave been running earlier than that
Whether its name was the Dandy, the
Surprise or the Independence is not
Known to the Rambler. It may have
been n steamboat whose name has
| not been handed down to U.s. It would
appear. from the facts at hand, that
the Surprise was the first steamboat
to enter the Georgetown Washington.
Alexandria ferry service. If any one
knows to the contrary. NOW is the
time to come to the aid Of the party
The first reference which the Ram
bier finds to a steamboat running be-
tween Washington and Norfolk is in
1921. and the name of the boat on
that route was the Potomac. The first
Washington-Baltim steamboat of
which the Rambler finds mention was
the Fredericksburg. commanded by
Capt. Benedict ]. Jenkins, running in
1880.
In 1922 the National Intelligencer
contained an advertisement that 1.-THE
Taylor, is making two trips daily. ex-
cept Sunday. when she makes one.
between Georgetown and Alexan-
dria." Either the Surprise or another
boat must have been running on the
ferry route before 1922, because Capt.
the advertisement that freight and
passengers will be taken at the Gus
tomary prices" Among the other ad-
vertisements in the National Intel
ligencer in 1922 was one relating to the
steamboat Dandy.
Dandy was running a ferry from
SmalIwood's wharf. in the Eastern
branch. near the navy yard. to Alex
andria, making calls at Potomac
bridge. The advertisement set forth
that the Dandy was making two
round trips a day, that the price OF
passage was rs cents and that the
captain and agent was Joseph John-
SON. In an issue OF the lntelfgencer
in May. 1928. was this: The steam
boat Independence will conn commence nee
Alexandra on Thursday, the ED In,
slant. In the morning the boat viii
leave Thompson's wharf, Alexandra,
at 8 O'Clock for the City Of Washing
ton and Bradley's wharf. Washing
andria. In the evening the indie.
incidence will leave Alexandria at
O'clock and Bradley's wharf at half
past 5 for Alexandria. Passage, 12h
cents. The Stockholders"
There has been some talk of the
establishment Of a new ferry me
between Washington and Alexanarla;
and the Alexandra Gazette OF April
10 contained an e edit0r aa oId the rhe
clipping. from the Gazette was sent
to the Rambler by DR.. Edwin Lee
Morgan, and. because OF the peru,
nent and interesting facts contained
in Il. the Rambler begs leave TO re-
produce 1t. Here 1t foilo"e:
A lady reader Of the Gazette. realizing with
others that the time is RIPE s0f
Aie1andria and washington, yesterday pro 70
pounded certain queries concerning steamposts g
which in pygons days sa T tss canit.i city. Her
the name Of which she could not recall. which
exploded its boiler Ct the loot Or hns .,s.me.
WAS the James Guy which at that time ran ,o on
the lower river route: but which vas being ..IsE
used rs . ferryboat between the TWO cues
th~
Our correspondent also asked the names OF
ferryboats which were on the route during the
s,t itt . .na M. af s.' r.
Continued on the route till the latter part Of
the eos. when two new ferry boats; the City OF
placed on the lire by the Washington and
AieIandria Ferry Company. The City Of Alex
andria was burned at her dock in this city In
su S rebuilt at baltimore and named
the Columbia. The latter was burned at her
slip in Washington about fifteen years ago and
lying in Hunting creek.
Ferry boats known as the Onion. George
Page, George Washington and Thomas Collyer
were in service before the civil war. Another
steamer. known as the George Warrington.
and two others. the LAckawanna and the Yer
mont (her name being changed to the Alex
two cities during the first decade Of this cen
fury. In 1905 two modern ferry steamers. the
By the Norfolk ana washington Steamboat
Company and placed on the route between this
city and Washington. Their career was short.
however. many who had clau,ored for =
ferry service did not patronize the boats to the
extent expected. The suggestion that the time
has come when the ferry service should be re.
vived is often heard and It is hoped that In
the near future Alexandra and Washington
will again enjoy this mode Of transportation :.
The files Of the National Intelli-
gencer for 1928 show a steamboat
called the Independence and whose
captain is not named in the adver-
tisement. running between Washing
ton and Alexandra, and the Surprise.
commanded by Capt. Alexander Scott,
was still in the ferry service. Before
the appearance Of a steamboat on the
Potomac river. which was not later
than 1913, as the Rambler has shown
In previous chapters on Potomac
steamboats,, sloops and other sailing
craft piled between Georgetown and
Alexandria with such conformity to a
, schedule as wind and weather per-
mitted. The following advertisement
was taken from the National Intel
ligencer of May is. 1901:
III and T. Moore. auctioneers. will
sell at Merchants wharf on the 10th
of May the sloop Lively. burden
twenty-one tons, q very handsome
vessel. in good order. and we'll found.
Has a large, commodious cabin and is
particularly we'll calculated for a
packet to run between Georgetown
Gales are stated as coming, broadly, from
two main sources and operating In two
different directions A strong southeast
l~A $oo he ,ny-A