Lee Line Steamers | Riverboat History

Good to see this old nickel silver serving dish brought back to a shiny condition.

Recently a gentleman from Ohio contacted me seeking information about his Lee Line serving dish which passed down to him from his great grandmother.    The dish sat in his parents home for years without much notice until he came across leelinesteamers.com and contacted me.  The PETERS LEE ran the Memphis Cincinnati trade; therefore this dish most likely came from the PETERS.   There are 4 dishes known to me – including this dish.  The Woodruff Fountaine House 680 Adams Ave. Memphis has a very nice one on display, my friend Ed Provine owns an equally nice one and Ed graciously sold me a second dish from his collection of steamboat items.   Many would be old Lee Line items went to the bottom of the Mississippi when boats sank and when the Lee Line Wharfboat burned and sank at the foot of Beale Street in the mid 1920’s.  Thank you for sharing pictures of your dish Joe.   I am always interested in locating Lee Line items.

Recently, this bill of lading was offered on EBay and I was able to purchase it for a nominal amount.  As you can see, the penmanship is beautiful.

Recently

This brochure recently was listed on EBay and sold for $227.50.  The Saint Louis and Tennessee River Packet Co. was a strong competitor of the Lee Line.  At one point, money changed hands and the Lee Line withdrew a steamer leading to rates being restored to their former level.

This link will take you to a book review on the study of how Samuel Clements came to use the name Mark Twain.  Enjoy.

http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/a-new-theory-on-mark-twain/

The river system in the United States is unique of all the land masses on planet Earth, especially the Mississippi River basin.  The Mississippi River basin overlays the industrial heartland of our country allowing efficient transportation of all manner of farm products, raw materials as well as finished goods of all sorts to be shipped from producers to consumers and reverse.   The expansion of river traffic from the 1830’s onward allowed our nations rail system to develop quickly to the point that by the early 1890’s rail traffic began to surpass steam powered river traffic.  In the early 1830’s Capt. Jim Lee build steamboats as well as bought boats to run on the Cumberland River.  By the 1850’s he was running boats on the Mississippi.  Around 1858 he moved to Memphis and built the foundation of the Lee Line.

Jose and Jennifer Velazquez are making great progress in restoring the James Lee house as a bed and breakfast inn.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-James-Lee-House/167165240041348?hc_location=stream

This Rees Lee postcard is a colorized version of the card pictured below.   This colorized card recently sold for approx. $40 on EBay.

This Rees Lee postcard also sold on EBay recently and brought $48.00  It is good to see Lee Line ephemera sell well.  The Eagle Packet Company boat the SPREAD EAGLE is against the bank.  This Sephia toned card was printed in Germany.

This picture is from the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University call 560.52 1907-028 and is used with permission.