Sam Brown (Towboat, 1896-1916)

Date

• 1904

Summary

• BOAT DESCRIPTION: Sternwheel
• BOAT TYPE: Towboat
• BUILT: 1896 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• FINAL DISPOSITION: Boiler explosion at Huntington, West Virginia on February 2, 1916
• OWNERS: Brown's Line
• OFFICERS & CREW: 1896: Captain Lew Blair (master), Robert Manning (mate), Burt Garrett (chief engineer), George Woods (pilot); Later: Casper Cillus (pilot); 1916: Captain Lew C. Blair (master), Perry A. Wilson (chief engineer), Sam Boyer (2nd engineer), William Hyser (steward), Billy Boles (pilot)
• RIVERS: Monongahela River; Kanawha River; Ohio River
• OTHER INFORMATION: Ways - T2241; On April 11, 1913 the Sam Brown sank at Grassy Flats, Ohio River. She was raised by divers Ed Moore and Vic Ehrhardt. Sam Brown had come down the Ohio River with a tow of Kanawha coal and was picking up other loads preparing to go south with them. On February 2, 1916 at 11 am, just below Symmes Creek her boilers exploded. The blast killed ten crew members and injured four; it also demolished the boat and broke many plate glass store fronts and windows in Huntington. Detailed information on both the explosion and the namesake Captain Samuel Smith Brown of Pittsburgh can be found in Way's Steam Towboat Directory, #T2241
• PHOTO DESCRIPTION: In the foreground from left to right: Rose Hite: Edgar Cherry; Lorena. Passing under the Wabash Bridge is the Sam Brown with tow