Captain Meriwether Lewis
This is a model of a Corps of Engineers Steam dredge that was built
in 1931 by Marietta Marine Works in Point Pleasant, Virginia. The Corps
maintained a number of these type boats to channel the Missouri River for
commercial navigation. The original boat was 285 feet long and could dredge
to a depth of 20 feet at a speed
of 150 to 200 feet per hour. In a 24 hour
period it could move up to 185,000 cubic yards of sand.
The model was built to be raffled off as a fund raiser by the U.F.A.
Inc., a non-profit historical preservation and education organization,
and the Brownville Historical Society, of Brownville, Nebraska, which maintains
the boat as a museum in Brownville. It is 30 inches long and 11 1/2 inches
wide, and made entirely by hand, from scratch. It took approx. 200 hours
to build. 18 feet of 1/16 inch square basswood was used to build the railings.
A glass display case was also built to protect the model.
The model was won by Mr. Jim Bowers, of Bellevue, Nebraska, in a drawing
held, September 26 at the Brownville Autum Flea Market.
