Potomac (1894)

Photograph

Steamboat Era Museum

Oblique angle, medium shot of starboard.

Name/Title

Potomac (1894)

Entry/Object ID

2017.2.021

Description

Year Built: 1894 Built By: Neafie & Levy Ship and Engine Building Company Built At: Philadelphia, PA Built For: Maryland and Virginia Steamboat Company Official Number: 150672 Length: 176.8 feet Beam: 35.8 feet Depth of Hold: 11.0 Gross Tons: 763 gross, 688 net Engine: Compound Propulsion: Propeller Hull: Iron Engine: 1,000 hp Owners: Weems Line, 1895-1905 Maryland, Delaware and Virginia (MD&V) Railroad Company, 1905-1924 Baltimore and Virginia Steamboat Company, 1924-1932 Western Shore Steamboat Company, 1932-1936 Routes: Baltimore to Potomac River and Washington, DC Baltimore to Patuxent River Baltimore to Rappahannock River Comments: In 1905 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company purchased the Queen Ann Railroad Company, the Chester River Steamboat Company and the Weems Steamboat Company. A new subsidiary of the Railroad was incorporated, the Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railroad Company (MD&V), to manage and operate the acquisition. Included in the transaction were the Weems steamers ST. MARY’S, WESTMORELAND, LANCASTER, POTOMAC, ESSEX, CAROLINE, NORTHUMBERLAND, MIDDLESEX, CALVERT, and ANNE ARUNDEL. Also acquired were the steamers GRATITUDE, CORSICA, EMMA A. FORD AND B. S. FORD of the Chester River Steamboat Company and the Queen Anne’s Railroad network on the Eastern Shore. Sold in bankruptcy proceedings to the Baltimore and Virginia Steamboat Company in 1924. Sold in bankruptcy proceedings to the Western Shore Steamboat Company in 1932. Sold to the Chesapeake Corporation in 1936 and converted to a barge. Pilot house was saved and used as a summer cottage. Disposition: Converted to a barge after collision with a freighter near Baltimore. Dismantled in 1956.