What is the oldest steamboat still operating on the Mississippi?
Steamboat
The Belle of Louisville is the oldest operating steamboat in the United States, and the oldest operating Mississippi River-style steamboat in the world. She was laid down as Idlewild in 1914, and is currently located in Louisville, Ky.[48]
Iowa (steamboat)
The Steamboat Iowa was revered as one of the largest and fastest boats on the Mississippi in the mid 19th century; it is incorporated into the official Seal of Iowa. Built in 1838, the "Iowa" was the first vessel named for the newly formed Territory of Iowa. It weighed 112 tons, could pull 10 keelboats, and it set the speed record from Galena, Illinois to St. Louis in 1843, making the trip in 44 hours, a record that held until 1849.
The "Iowa" was hired by Mormon supporters of Joseph Smith, Jr. as part of a plan to rescue him from jail in June 1843; the excursion was cancelled after Smith was murdered in jail.
The "Iowa" sank after a collision with the steamboat "Declaration" on Oct. 1, 1847 while traveling from New Orleans to St. Louis. This liability for this collision was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court case "John Walsh v. Patrick Rogers" (54 U.S. 283- 1852). However, the "Iowa" was apparently rebuilt, or a new steamboat was later rechristened "Iowa", since similar side-wheeler appeared twice in Barber and Howe's 1865 "Loyal West in the Time of Rebellion", and there is reference to the "Iowa" being used as a troop transport during the Civil War.