As I was reviewing the Certificates of Enrollments for vessels more than twenty tons from the Customhouse in Pittsburgh, I was surprised by the number of keelboats registered.  My surprise was in part due to the build dates of the keelboats.  I thought that the steamboat marked the end of the keelboat’s useful life years earlier.  I was also impressed by the size, length and breadth, of the vessels.  With little scientific or technological control of the vessel descending the Ohio River, I can only imagine the physical struggle to maneuver heavy cargo downstream in a keelboat.

I have only reviewed the volumes 6633-6636 of the National Archives Record Type 41.  Those volumes contain the enrollment data from 4 Jan 1850 to 30 Dec 1854.  Within that timeframe I found eleven keel boats built by Georgetown men.  The old family names, Poe, Laughlin, Dawson, and Calhoon, are all represented.  Like steamboats, keelboats were family owned with three or four partners – family members and friends.

The size of this sample of keel boats, from smallest to largest, follows:

            Length:                       100ft               114 ft
            Breadth:                     17ft                 17ft10in
            Depth:                           1ft 5in              2ft1in
            Capacity:                    27 39/95 tons  40 25/95 tons
 

Georgetown Keel Boats

Date:  31 Mar 2012