City of Baton Rouge

Le Claire, IA

The City of Baton Rouge was built in 1916 at the Howard Ship Yards in Jeffersonville, IN. The boat was operated by the Baton Rouge Transportation Company and served as a ferry boat at the Mississippi. Like her sister Louisiana the boat has a catamaran hull and was powered by a single center-paddlewheel. The City of Baton Rouge had a capacity for 500 passengers and 21 cars.

In 1971 her steam engines, manufactured in 1915 by Gillett & Eaton, Lake City, MN, had been removed and transferred to the Julia Belle Swain. The City of Baton Rouge today is owned by Capt. Dennis Trone and serves as a landing boat for the MV Twilight in Le Claire, IA. The interior of the boat still shows its former beauty – unfortunately the stacks and the pilothouse were lost in a tornado some years ago.

See also the website of the Twilight: www.riverboattwilight.com.

Pictures

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