In 1880 John Streckfus began a commercial packet business serving the Rock Island community that evolved to become the largest excursion riverboat operation serving the Mississippi from St. Paul to New Orleans and the Ohio from Pittsburg to St. Louis. Streckfus built the sternwheeler J.S., the first purposed sightseeing and music/dance riverboat in 1900. When the J.S. suffered a tragic fire and burned to the waterline in 1910, Streckfus and his...
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