Hod Knowles News Today

Famous for its prolific orchards, which produce peaches in summer and apples in the autumn, Calhoun County, Ill., has a long history involving steamboats.

December 15, 2020 By In 1883, for a contract price of $16,750, the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., built the Benton McMillin, a modest packet boat named in honor of the Tennessee congressman, who later served as governor of the state from 1899 until 1903. McMillin (1845–1933) was noted for being an old-line Democrat who was a staunch advocate of low tariffs. Constructed on a wooden hull measuring 155 feet in length by 3...