Save the Sprague: 2012

Each year I make a prilgrimage to the resting place of one of Vicksburg's most historical assets which is rusting along Washington Street right past downtown Vicksburg. It is the remains of the Sprague steamboat, a majestic lady who is an icon of our city's history. But for another year, the pieces salvaged from when she burned several decades ago have succumbed to another year of rust. And once again I am making an appeal to anyone who will listen that we need to save the Sprague. More specifically, I think we need to save the sternwheel, which is the first photo in this album and the smokestacks. I can just picture the sternwheel rebuilt and placed in a shallow pool near the Transportation Museum. A motor could turn the wheel and people could just stand there and watch that mighty piece of Vicksburg and Mississippi history. So please share this album with anyone whom you think can save the Sprague. Thieves, I understand, have already started stealing some of the Sprague to sell as scrap. I cannot stand, however, to see her just rust away. Who will help me?

Pieces of Vicksburg's history....rusting away

Here are the smokestacks of the sternwheeler Sprague, one of the most awe-inspiring vessels to ever ply the waters of the Mighty Mississippi. Ride down Washington Street now and you can see the pieces that have been hidden by vines and brush for the past few months. The other photos at the bottom of this post are other pieces of the historic boat. Another year has passed and the boat seems to be forgotten by everyone. I never even saw the boat intact and can only imagine how big a boat she was just by looking at photos of her. But I do understand how important these old rusty pieces are to the city's history, especially considering that the likelihood of another steamboat ever visiting the city are pretty nil. We need to save what we can of her before it is too late, even if it is just the sternwheel, smokestacks and crow's nest. I spend hours upon hours scouring the countryside recording scenes that one day will only exist in pictures. I do not want that to happen to the Sprague. For I can only surmise that at some point in time someone is going to want to use that piece of land where she now rests and will let the junkman have her. She will be cut up into scrap and hauled off. I will cry on that day when it arrives.


I am one voice. Will you add your voice to mine? Spread this blog entry far and wide. At some point in time someone who can do what needs to be done will hear us.