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Built in Pittsburgh by the Carnegie Steel Co. in 1918, the towboat that eventually would be named the W.P. Snyder Jr. was created for the purpose of pulling and pushing barges up and down the Ohio River. Steam-powered, 175 feet long and 32 feet wide, it carried a crew of 20 and sat about five feet into the water. As a steam-powered sternwheel towboat, it was the last of its kind built in the country. After several re-namings, it was made obsolete by more efficient diesel-powered models and in 1955 slated for scrap.
Instead, it is now the premier exhibit belonging to the Ohio River Museum, saved by the efforts of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
At 7 p.m. April 28 the museum will hold a 100th birthday celebration for the W.P. Snyder, an evening that will include food, music and a keynote speech by someone whose family worked on the boat.
“This is huge for Marietta, the W.P. Snyder turning 100,” said museum marketing director Christina Graham. “Marietta is very fortunate to have it- it could have gone to other places. It’s the last of its kind, all the others burned, were scrapped or repurposed.”
The evening event will be informal, she said, and those who attend can snack on light hors d’ouvres, have drinks and roam around the museum. Barbara Ritz, who lives in Pittsburgh, will speak about her family’s experiences on the W.P. Snyder Jr., Graham said.
There will be no charge to attend.
“We want everyone to enjoy this, to kick off our big year,” Graham said.
Bill Reynolds, historian at Campus Martius Museum, is curating the exhibit.
“It is a 100-year montage of photos, quotes from crew members and objects that relate to the W.P. Snyder Jr.,” he said.
Items include a searchlight, a pilot chair, paper records of daily goings-on such as payscales and a telephone directory for the crew, a front page from a 1955 edition of The Marietta Times announcing that the boat was coming to Marietta permanently, and a copy of the telegram from Crucible Steel to the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen advising them that the boat was theirs.
“There will be engine room bells on display, a lot of images, things that will give people a sense of what the crew experienced,” Reynolds said.
He gave lavish praise to the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen for going to extraordinary efforts to rescue the boat from oblivion and bring it to Marietta more than 60 years ago.
“It’s pretty exciting to realize those people had that kind of foresight,” he said.
The museum expects to hold further events during the centenary year, including a community picnic in September that will double as a fundraiser.
“It’s a grand old boat, and we’re in the third phase of restoration,” Reynolds said. “Come September, it will look like it’s brand new.”
At a glance
Ohio River Museum celebration
≤ Occasion: 100th birthday of the towboat W.P. Snyder Jr.
≤ Where: Ohio River Museum, 601 Front St.
≤ When: 7 p.m. April 28
≤ Admission: Free.
≤ For information: 740-373-3750