Thomas Powell (steamboat)
Thomas Powell was a fast and popular steamboat built in Manhattan, New York, in 1846 for service on the Hudson River. She ran between New York City and various Hudson River destinations during her career, including Newburgh, Piermont, Poughkeepsie, Rondout, Catskill, and finally as a nightboat to Troy. She also ran on the Delaware River for some years in the 1850s, and during the American Civil War served as a Union Army dispatch boat.
Thomas Powell was considered one of the fastest, if not the fastest, of the Hudson River steamers of her time, capable of speeds in excess of. Her speed, excellent accommodations and good management made her a favorite with the traveling public, and consequently, she retained her original name to the end of her career. Her last known trip was made in 1879 and she was scrapped in 1881.
Construction and design
In 1846, Thomas Powell, a prominent businessman of Newburgh, New York, and his son-in-law Homer Ramsdell, ordered a new steamboat to replace Powell's Highlander, which had been running on the New York–to–Newburgh route since 1836. The new steamboat was named Thomas Powell after her part-owner.Thomas Powell, a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamer, was built by Lawrence & Sneden of Manhattan, New York, under the supervision of her future captain, Samuel Johnson. She was long, with a beam of, draft of and hold depth of Her registered tonnage was 585. A bust of her namesake was mounted on the pilot house roof.
Thomas Powell was powered by a vertical beam engine with cylinder bore of, stroke of, and steam cut-off set at. Steam was supplied by two boilers, one on each guard in accordance with the prevailing fashion, at a working pressure of, and fuel consumption was 2 tons of anthracite coal per hour. Both the engine and boilers were built by T. F. Secor & Co. of New York. The water wheels had a diameter of and a paddle length of.
Service history
Newburgh service 1846–1848
Thomas Powell made her maiden voyage from New York to Newburgh on 30 April 1846. She thereafter maintained a regular schedule, departing from Warren Street, New York, for Newburgh at 4 pm Monday through Saturday, with intermediate stops at Van Courtland's Dock, Peekskill, West Point, Cold Spring and Cornwall. Return trips from Newburgh departed at 6:30 am Monday and 7 am Tuesday through Saturday. The steamer did not operate on Sundays.Thomas Powells excellent passenger accommodations, exceptional speed and good management quickly made her a favorite with the traveling public. On 18 June, she went from New York to Cauldwell's—a distance—in just 2 hours, reaching Newburgh 40 minutes later, the average speed over the total distance being. On 16 August, the steamer went from New York to Newburgh, a distance of —including five intermediate stops totalling 20 minutes—in 3 hours 6 minutes, at an average speed of just under, reinforcing her reputation as one of the fastest boats on the Hudson.
One boat considered a possible rival to Thomas Powell in terms of speed at this time was Mountaineer, a smaller vessel that had entered service the same year. In July, Mountaineer had easily beaten Thomas Powells predecessor Highlander, and opinion was divided as to which of the two newer boats was faster. On 13 August, Mountaineer departed Hammond Street, New York, some minutes earlier than usual, and thus came within sight of Thomas Powell as the two boats made their way to Peekskill. Approaching Yonkers, Mountaineer was about two miles behind Thomas Powell, but reportedly put on "a great head of steam" and appeared to be catching her rival when a loud explosion occurred and she was enveloped in a cloud of steam. Thomas Powells captain immediately put his vessel about to go to the aid of the stricken steamer, which had blown a sheet from her steam chimney. Several passengers and crew who were scalded in the accident were taken aboard Thomas Powell, along with the other passengers, for the completion of their passages.
Thomas Powell continued to operate between New York and Newburgh in the 1847 season, her owners renting a berth at Warren Street for the sum of $2,000 annually. On June 8, the steamer reportedly completed the journey from New York to Newburgh in 3 hours flat, with a total running time of 2 hours 35 minutes, at an average of —a speed said by a contemporaneous journal to be obtainable by "few boats, and very few railroads" in the country at the time.
The following month, the steamboat Niagara was on her way from New York to Albany when a steam component gave way about north of the city, causing an explosion that reportedly killed two of the boat's engineers and scalded several passengers. The steamboats Roger Williams and Thomas Powell were quickly on the scene, the former taking most of the passengers aboard, including some with milder injuries, for completion of their journey to Albany. Thomas Powell in the meantime towed the stricken Niagara to shore, before taking two more seriously injured passengers aboard in order to return them to New York City for medical treatment.
Piermont and Poughkeepsie service, 1849–1850
By early 1849, the New York and Erie Railroad had completed its line between Port Jervis and Piermont, New York, creating a demand for a more frequent steamboat service between Piermont and New York City. Thomas Powell & Co., which had a financial interest in the railroad, consequently decided to sell Thomas Powell to the line to help meet this demand, with the steamboat Roger Williams taking the Powells place on the Newburgh route. Thomas Powell was subsequently placed on a schedule of two round trips per day between the city and Piermont, leaving the former at 7 am and 4 pm daily. The steamboat Erie was also acquired by the railroad for the service. Passenger baggage was placed in barges towed by the steamers.Thomas Powell continued in this service for two seasons. By 1851, passenger travel on the river had declined due to the completion of the Hudson River Railroad to Albany, and on May 12 of that year, the steamer was sold to Thomas Hulse, who placed her on a route between New York City and Poughkeepsie. She remained in this service for only a few weeks however before being sold to the Newcastle and Frenchtown Turnpike & Railroad Company for service on the Delaware River.
Philadelphia to Cape May service, 1851–1856
After acquiring Thomas Powell, the Newcastle and Frenchtown Turnpike & Railroad Company placed the steamer, along with the steamboat General McDonald, on the route between Philadelphia and Cape May, New Jersey, on the Delaware Bay, in opposition to the old steamboats Ohio and Morris. In addition to her regular trips on this route, Thomas Powell was also employed occasionally during this period as an excursion steamer.The steamer continued in this service until September 1855, when she was sold to parties in New York.
Saugerties, Poughkeepsie, Rondout and Catskill service, 1856–1863
By late 1855, Thomas Powell had come into the possession of Oscar Hoyt of New York, who returned her to service on the Hudson River, running between New York City and Albany. Though the steamer would remain in Hudson River service for the rest of her commercial career, she only briefly continued on the Albany route before being purchased in the winter of 1855 by Captain Absalom L. Anderson.Anderson originally used Thomas Powell to replace the aging steamer Robert L. Stevens, which he had been running on a route between New York City and his hometown of Saugerties. After only one season, however, he realized that the Powell was too large for the service, and in 1857 he switched her destination to Poughkeepsie. Thomas Powell remained on the Poughkeepsie route until 1858, when the citizens of Rondout, who had been deprived of a steamboat service since the withdrawal of the Alida in 1855, persuaded Anderson to extend his steamboat service the additional to their city. The initial run by the steamer to Rondout was made from Jay Street, New York, at 3:53 pm on April 24, 1858. Thomas Powells regularly scheduled service began two days later on the 26th, the vessel departing Rondout at 5:30 am Monday through Saturday, arriving at Jay Street at 11 am after the run, and leaving again for Rondout at 3:45 pm. The route thus established would be maintained, largely by Anderson and his sons, for the next sixty years.
In 1860, the new steamboat Daniel Drew appeared on the river, and Anderson realized that Thomas Powell, previously among the fastest and best-appointed steamboats afloat, was on the verge of being outclassed by a new generation of vessels. He decided to order a new steamboat to replace the Powell, but was unable to do so for another year due to other financial commitments, and his new steamboat, Mary Powell—retaining the Powell name to capitalize on the high reputation of her predecessor—was not launched until August 1861.
Mary Powells contract stipulated that she was to be faster by "one mile in twelve" than Thomas Powell or the builder was reportedly to forfeit $5,000—considered a bad bet by pundits given the latter's reputation for speed. Although she was not quite completed, Anderson attempted to rush Mary Powell into service, and she made her first voyage to Rondout on 12 October, but shortly after was replaced by her predecessor and would not run again until the following year. Mary Powells initial speed reached only, seeming to prove the skeptics correct, but the following year she was declared by her owner to be a faster boat on the Rondout run by an average of 30 minutes.
Following the end of the 1861 season, Thomas Powell was sold to the Catskill Steam Transportation Company for the sum of $35,000 and in 1862, made her debut on the New York City to Catskill route. She would continue on this route until 1864.