Save the Sprague

As has become a tradition on my blog at the start of a new year,  I once again appeal for the people of Vicksburg to rise up and do what they can to save the Sprague. The remains of the famous sternwheeler lie in tangled vines on Washington Street near downtown. Most people passing by the historical remnants of Vicksburg's past have no clue how important a role the boat, a world record holder in steamboat lore, has in the heritage of our town. But for another year, it has been subjected to the elements and rust has had another year to gnaw at the once proud lady of the river.

I know all of the rusted pieces cannot be saved, but just close your eyes when you finish reading this and picture in your mind the sternwheeer section, pictured in the top photos, if was outfitted with new paddles and placed in a pool of water and allowed to show its majesty for all to see. Place a motor alongside the sternwheel and just think of how people would marvel at the size of the sternwheel as it churned the water. It would be an awesome sight!

Spread the word, my friends. I know not many people come to this blog, but leave a comment if you stumble across this post. Let others know of the plight of the Sprague. Let's save her before Mother Nature takes her or she is cut up and taken for scrap. We cannot let that happen. This piece of Vicksburg heritage can be saved; it can be a showpiece for the city; and it can serve the people of Vicksburg for years to come.

Save the Sprague

Some of the remains of the Sprague looks like heaps of rusting iron pieces. I am not asking that we save every piece of the grand old boat. But at least the sternwheel, which was pictured on Monday and Tuesday, plus the two smokestacks, which I pictured yesterday, can be cleaned up and moved for display. They are easily identifiable pieces which can be seen in every photo of the steamboat.
You can barely see some of the iron pieces for vines and brush have overtaken them, looking like they are trying to pull them back into the earth.

Here's the crow's nest of the boat. If that thing could only talk! Think how it would look if it was sandblasted, repainted and mounted near the transportation museum or the MV Mississippi exhibit, with that big red sternwheel next to her and the two smokestacks erect. I can see it in my head....and it's great!

Save the Sprague. I am lifting my voice. Will you?

Save the Sprague

Here is the sternwheel of The Sprague in the tangled vines between the Yazoo Diversion Canal and Washington Street. That's a smokestack in the foreground of the photo. More photos will run for the rest of the week to bring about awareness of this majestic piece of Vicksburg history that is rusting away on the outskirts of town. The more people find out about this, the better the chances something can be done to preserve what remains. I am one voice.

Update on the Sprague

I've had a lot of comments and emails relating to my recent post about the Sprague, so I thought I would drop by the remains of the steamboat this weekend to record how another year has taken its toll on what is left of the historic vessel. The top three photos show the sternwheel, smokestacks and a boiler from the Sprague. The other two photos are miscellaneous hardware that is lying about. More rust is quite evident. A few more weeks and most of the remains will be hidden under the weeds and brush for the rest of the summer.