EAGLE POINT BOAT-YARD AND WEIGHTS-1875

JOHNSON, KOHLKE, GUSSIE GIRDON, STERLING, J G CHAPMAN, ROUSE, DEAN, INGRAM, KENNEDY, HUGHES, DAY, PENN WRIGHT, L W CRANE

Posted By: CHERYL MOONEN (email)
Date: 5/28/2018 at 23:07:56

. Dubuque Daily Times, Tuesday, Mar 30, 1875, Dubuque, IA, Page: 4

EAGLE POINT BOAT-YARD
AND WEIGHTS

Valuable Acquisition to Dubuque

Dubuque is happy in the possession of the best location on the river between New Orleans and St. Paul for steamboat ways, and those located here have already developed a very large, extensive and profitable business. About three years ago Messrs. Johnson & Kohlke came here and secured the Eagle Point boat-yards ground, erected their ways and machinery so as to be ready at a moment’s notice to haul out anything in the shape of a boat, from a skiff to the largest steamer that floats upon the waters of the Mississippi. By courtesy, close attention to business and prompt and faithful execution to all contracts, they have won many friends and secured a great amount of work, which might have gone to other points, but now enables them to keep constantly at work a large force of men which makes Eagle Point look like a wide awake village. Last fall they hauled up their ways eight river steamers, and quite a number of flats boats and barges, all to be overhauled and repaired in the winter and took a government contract to build a fine large scale wheel steamer, and one first class barge to be used in improving the Wisconsin River. with this large amount of work on hand they have been enabled to give constant employment to a full force of seventy ship builders, carpenter and blacksmiths all winter, and the spring bids fair to bring them all the work they can possibly do the coming summer. They are now hurrying work along so as to launch the boats as soon as the river opens. Among the numerous boats on the ways under repair, we noticed the little packet Gussie Girdon, the Sterling, the J. G. Chapman-a fine iron raft boat built by Rouse & Dean and owned by the Eau Claire Lumber Company, the Clyde-another first-class iron raft boat built by the same firm and owned by Ingram, Kennedy & Day, lumber dealers–Penn Wright and the L. W. Crane, both fine steamers. Also the Dubuque and Potosi ferry, and Jim Hughes’ new ferry, to be run between Dubuque and a point below Potosi-all under the hammer and chisel, the caulking tools and the paint brush. The foundries, machine shops and boiler-makers have all had their share of work to do. The building of the new side-wheel steamer for the Wisconsin River, is about completed, and makes a very fine appearance. As soon as the river opens she will be launched, when we hope to give our readers a full description of the launching and the boat. We now have the largest boat yard on the upper river, complete in every way and owned by gentlemen fully capable of executing any contract for work in their line that they may receive–from repairing a skiff to building a palace steamer. Their sawmill for cutting timbers, blacksmith shop and machinery for hauling out steamers are complete in every particular.