Baden's First 100 YearsPage Fifty
The Ohio River and BadenFor many years the early settlers on the O-hee-o were interested in keel boats as a means of trade and transportation. It required a month to take a trip between Pittsburgh and Louisville in a keel. Then the first boat for Western waters is said to have been the "New Orleans", built in Pittsburgh in 1811. Steamboats were used in 1817. The first one that passed Baden was the "Constitution", but it never reached Pittsburgh as it ran aground on the bar at "Dead Man". The first boat with a whistle, the "Uncle Sam", passed our village in 1837 - just 100 years ago. The first steamboat to tow coal passed Baden to New Orleans was the "Crescent City" in 1854. Among the men who were engaged in the early boat building industry was Captain Thomas Fowler. He was the father of Captain Sam Fowler, also a river captain and pilot between Pittsburgh and Louisville. At the close of the Civil War, Captain Tom Fowler superintended the building of a number of boats: : "Resolute", "J. Sharp McDonald", "My Choice" and others. These boats were built in this district. John Dippold was another famous boat builder. His son, Captain John H. Dippold, commander of the "Sprague", was an outstanding River Captain. He built a replica of the "Harry Brown", the largest tow-boat on the river at that period. This miniature boat can be seen at the Carnegie Museum. Our oldest living Baden resident, Captain Calvin Blazier, served his apprenticeship under Captain Dippold. Captain Blazier has since retired and enjoys telling you many stories of "Comin' round the bend" - headed toward New Orleans. Captain John H. Douds, our oldest citizen, in point of years (96), steamboated for over 50 years on the Ohio, being on the river since he was 16 years old, and Captain Ulysses Jones was another river captain of note. Captain Jones and Douds were formerly Southside river men, but later made their homes in Baden. The late Captain Mathew Erwin of the "S.P. Gillet", later became affiliated with the U.S. Government Locks in the Ohio River. Captain Erwin was the son of Captain Samuel Erwin who also ran the river. Some of the leading pilots from this community were the famed Jim Logan, after whom old Logan station was named; George Cochran Hill, who before the Civil War piloted boats for the Browns and Dippolds. One outstanding event in Mr. Hill's career was placing the barges in front of the propeller instead of at the rear of the boat as had been done in former years. This method had not been tried before and due to his efforts this successful procedure has been used ever since; Joseph Briggs, Joseph Frederick Ehrmann, Jim Jones, father of Walter Jones, piloting the "Old Enterprise", the "Jno W. Allies" and others. Pilot Jones died on the boat "Caleb's Delight" just above Steubenville; Edwin Fowler, Henry Bryan, C.R. Berry, Jackson Davis and others. The Ohio River and its tributaries is the greatest section of the
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