Published July 8, 2012
By Dave Dulaney
From the founding of
Quincy in 1822 by John Wood, the town grew tremendously. By the 1840 census,
2,300 people had braved the trip from the east to settle the Mississippi town
on the edge of civilization. Most pioneers made the trip by a combination of
steamboat passage and on trails like the Cumberland Road.
The census of 1850 recorded the community’s population had
tripled to 6,900. This count showed Quincy was one of the largest settlements
in the emerging west. In 1853, Congress made Quincy a port of entry for foreign
goods, which made Quincy an important center for steamboat travel and
distribution. By the end of the decade, arrivals to Quincy by steamboats had
grown from less than 50 in the mid-1830s to nearly 3,000 by 1859. Quincy’s
growth continued in the 1850s, resulting in the count for 1860 showing Quincy’s
size again had almost doubled to 13,700 residents, making it the 69th largest
city in the country.
At the beginning of the next decade, the Civil War would
greatly consume the efforts of the town, slowing its growth. After the war, the
city resumed its fast pace of development. By 1867, advocates for commerce were
reaching out to bring business into the area. James Singleton had arranged to
bring the state fair to Quincy in order to boost agriculture and its supporting
industries. Samuel Holmes and others were building a railroad bridge across the
Mississippi that would continue Quincy’s role as a crossroads center. Thomas
Jasper and others would form the Saint Louis and Quincy Packet Co. to increase
river traffic to the city. All this activity would lead to population growth of
75 percent at the next census.
Quincy, with 24,000 people in 1870, was the 55th
largest city in America.
Of the three ventures, the new packet company was the most
risky. Its founders would go up against John McCune and the Saint Louis and
Keokuk Packet line. This company was the oldest packet company and McCune the
most respected steamboat man on the river. To counter McCune, the owners of the
new packet company introduced a new boat that was larger and fancier than any
in the competing line. The new boat was named the Tom Jasper for the prominent
Quincy investor, company officer, and former mayor.
The company sent its lead captain, Frank Burnett, to Madison,
Ind., to supervise the construction of the new boat. Burnett arrived on
April 9, 1867, and worked with the boat builders Vance and Armstrong, the
company which built the hull and coordinated the specialty contractors
responsible for the engine, fine carpentry and furnishings needed to complete
the boat. The engine came from the large lower Mississippi steamboat Eclipse
and was installed by Neal Manufacturing. The main cabin and the individual
staterooms were constructed by John C. Crosley, marine architect. This firm was
responsible for all the fine carpentry and decorative trim (gingerbread). The
fine china, glassware and cutlery were provided by the G. P Mellen Co., which
was also likely responsible for the lamps and ornate chandeliers that graced
the rooms and main cabin of the boat. Two of these chandeliers are preserved
today by the Historical Society with one on display in the Steamboat Room of
the History Museum.
Newspapers all along the Ohio and Mississippi River
announced the completion of the Tom Jasper in August. They reported
that the stateroom walls were painted lilac. The doors were done in
rosewood with oval panels containing artistic landscapes, figures, fruits and flowers.
Local papers said the style of the boat was gothic, and the main cabin
walls were pure white with gilded accents on the gingerbread.
The new boat finally arrived from the Ohio River on Aug. 16.
On her first trip up the Mississippi from St. Louis, she attracted much
attention. She was greeted by large crowds of people eager to view the
conspicuous behemoth. At Clarksville, Mo., the Sentinel printed that everybody
went to the wharf to view the magnificent steamer and that she appeared “like a
thing of life.” When she reached the levee at Quincy, an anxious population,
bolstered by martial music and booming cannon, greeted her arrival. Formal
speeches took place at the landing, introducing the boat and crew to the city.
City leaders gave the crew a stand of colors to fly on the boat. Jasper, the
man for whom the boat was named, presented a splendid piano to be placed in the
ladies cabin.
The piano, he said, was
given so that the “youth may mingle in merry dance and song
under
the guidance of woman.” To go along with the piano, a piece of music was
published for the company by the St. Louis house of Compton and Doan. It was
titled “Jasper Schottish” and carried images of the boat and Jasper on the
cover. The Historical Society preserves in its files a copy of this sheet
music.
The ceremonies continued on the boat as 500 people boarded
for the trip to St. Louis. As soon as they were underway, dancing began and
lasted until the arrival at St. Louis. At Hannibal, Louisiana and Clarksville,
a number of people joined the excursion. The cuisine of the Jasper was reported
as being magnificent and equal to food served at the best hotels. A string
section performed for the diners in the main cabin. The boat arrived in St.
Louis at 12:30 a.m.
This first voyage was a success. The new company had a grand,
opulent boat that was the talk of the river system. Yet, the day to day competition
between the St. Louis and Quincy Packet Co. and the Keokuk and St. Louis line
proved more difficult. Later trips were much less successful. With all the new
company’s spending for expensive furnishings, elaborate decorations and the
$100,000 cost of building the large boat, the builders had neglected adequately
sized boilers for the engine. The Jasper could not get up enough steam. The
result was that the competing line’s boat beat them into port most of the time.
The St. Louis and Quincy Packet assets were sold to the Northwestern Packet
Line one year later. The Tom Jasper lasted until 1876, when it was remade with
new boilers and renamed the Centennial.
The St. Louis and Quincy Packet was a loss for its investors,
including Jasper. His loss would be made up by his efforts in distilling,
banking and railroads. But like the other two endeavors — the attraction of the
state fair to the city by Singleton and the construction of the railroad bridge
across the Mississippi by Holmes — it brought business and people to Quincy.
All three ventures involved great financial risk to their backers, and all
three in a figurative sense, sent out ships. The people who came to Quincy to
work on the three endeavors came because they were in search of a ship “to come
in.” The three efforts helped Quincy become the 55th largest city in the United
States and set the stage for 60 years of tremendous growth.
Dave Dulaney is a John Wood Community College employee and
serves on the boards of the Historical Society and Midwest Riverboat Buffs
Historical Club. He is a speaker, an author and a collector of memorabilia
pertaining to local history and steamboats.
Sources
“Arrival of the New Steamer Tom Jasper.” Quincy Herald, Aug. 17, 1867, p. 4.
“Arrival of the Tom Jasper.” Louisiana Journal, Aug. 17, 1867, p. 3.
Barns, Janice. “Tom Jasper.” In “River to Rail: The Rise and Fall of River and Rail Transportation in Madison Indiana.” A digital history project by the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library and the Jefferson County Historical Society.
www.mjcpl.org/rivertorail/boatstories/tom-jasper
.
Edwards’ Annual Directory to the City of Madison (Indiana). Edwards and Co. Publishers, 1867.
“Miscellaneous.” St. Louis Democrat, Aug. 19, 1867, p. 4.
“Miscellaneous” and “River News.” St. Louis Democrat, Aug. 14, 1867, p. 4.
“Opposition.” Louisville Daily Courier, Aug. 21, 1867, p. 4.
“Quincy, Illinois.” An article in Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy,_Illinois
.
“River News.” Louisiana Journal, July 27, 1867, p. 3.
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“Table 9 Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1860.”
www.Census.gov/
.
“Table 10. Population of the 100 largest Urban Places: 1870.”
www.census./population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab10.txt
.
“The Contest in the Quincy Trade.” New Albany Ledger, Aug. 20, 1867, p. 3.
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“The New Steamer Tom Jasper.” Aug. 22, 1867, p. 3.
“The St. Louis, Quincy and Keokuk Trade Competition Line.” St. Louis Times, Aug. 15, 1867, p. 5.
“The Steamer Tom Jasper.” Keokuk Daily Constitution, Aug. 20, 1867, p. 4.
“The Tom Jasper.” Louisiana Journal, Aug. 24, 1867, p. 3.
“The Tom Jasper.” Quincy Herald, July 23, 1867, p. 4.
“Tom Jasper.” Clarksville Sentinel, Aug. 1, 1867, p. 3.
“Tom Jasper.” Clarksville Sentinel, Aug. 22, 1867, p. 3.
“Various Items” and “Hotel Arrivals.” St. Louis Times, Aug. 21, 1867, p. 5.
Way, Frederick Jr. Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994. Athens: Ohio University
