Steamboat Era Museum

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Irvington, VA
Steamboat Era Museum

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Located in historic Irvington, VA
(1)

To preserve and celebrate the Chesapeake Bay's steamboat heritage by showcasing authentic artifacts and engaging stories illuminating how these vessels transformed commerce, community, and daily life during America's golden age of steam navigation.

11/05/2026

Wharf Wednesday 11/4/2026 Chesapeake Beach

In 1891, investors formed a corporation to build a railroad from Washington, DC, to Chesapeake Beach. The 28-mile-long route faced internal conflict and financial issues but was completed in 1899. The planned resort was not completed until the next year and opened in June.

Washington DC excursionists arrived by train which ran six times a day. Visitors from Baltimore, 55 miles away, arrived on steamer J.S. WARDEN after a 3 ½ hour trip. The wharf was long because of shallow water, so a miniature train delivered visitors to the park. The boardwalk, strung with bare incandescent bulbs, was constructed 300’ over the water as was the roller coaster!

Chesapeake Beach didn’t provide the profits as anticipated and the railroad cost more than anticipated in repairs. Chesapeake Beach wasn’t the grand resort planned by the investors but offered picnics under oak trees, open air dance floors, cafes, a band shell, midway games, a fun house, photo studio, midway games and the beautiful Belvedere Hotel built on a small bluff.

In 1923, fire destroyed the Belvedere Hotel and spread rapidly to other buildings. Buildings that didn’t burn were badly in need of repainting and repairs. In 1928, Seaside Park, Inc. was formed, repairs completed and Seaside Park was opened in 1930. The attractions over the water were brought on shore. A new ballroom was built to hold 2,000 people and the new saltwater pool was reputed to be the largest on the east coast. But the country was at the beginning of the Great Depression. Railroad ridership fell and service ended in 1935. Steamboat service ended in 1940.

11/01/2026

Sunday on a Steamboat ROSS WINANS

Ross Winans (1796-1877) was one of the first American millionaires, a mechanical engineer/inventor and was prominent in Maryland politics. He designed and manufactured railroad steam engines, and improved axles and wheel bearings. He well known to Baltimore business magnate Enoch Pratt, who owned the Maryland Steamboat Company.

Ross Winans and his eldest son Thomas, who became successful in his own right, then turned their mechanical talents to steamboats, specifically “cigar boats.” The boats were unconventional to say the least! Long and slender, the spindle shaped boats were designed to let the ship move through the water with less disturbance from the waves and weather.

Built in 1859 in Baltimore at the Winans shipyard, the ROSS WINANS was 108’ long and only 16’ wide. The propellor, powered by four high-pressure steam engines, was in the middle of the ship and designed to remain half submerged in the water. Her original length was increased to 194’ then to 244’ but the diameter stayed the same. Thomas Winans continued to strive for a smoother ride and faster speed. The December 10, 1859, issue of the Baltimore Sun reported “To test the steadiness of the Winans steamer, a tumbler was filled to the brim and placed in a plate. The motion of the ship was so steady as not to spill a drop of its content.”

ROSS WINANS traveled from Baltimore to Norfolk in December, and from there ran to Cape Henry in two hours and eighteen minutes. After its return to Baltimore, she ended up tied at the Baltimore docks for many years. The vessel never had full sea trials.

When the Civil War began, the Winans relocated to Europe, eventually building cigar boats in Tsarist Russia. The vessel, although successful on the Gulf of Finland, did not impress the Tsar. Winans moved the cigar ship to England, and another one was built in France, but the design never gained commercial or military acceptance.

It has been suggested that the cigar boat design was a prototype for the submarine H.L. HUNLEY, but there is no conclusive proof. It did inspire Jules Vernes’ submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
The first two illustrations are drawings. The last photo shows the ROSS WINANS tied up in Baltimore

10/29/2026

Wharf Wednesday 10/28/2026 Baltimore Harbor 1912-1953

When looking at these photographs or postcards, it’s easy to see the decline in the number of steamboats, especially between 1920 and 1930 pictures.

Dates of the pictures (1) 1912 (2) 1913 (3) & (4) 1920 (5) 1935 (6)1949 (7) 1953.

10/26/2026

Come one come all!

While some of you may know Chip Woodson and Margery Nea as Weems royalty, the Steamboat Era Museum is lucky to know them as some of our most steadfast members and supporters.

In the late 1880s, their grandfather, James Oscar Dameron, and his brother, Walton Alexander Dameron, sailed from Kinsale seeking a place to build their future. At Weems, they found a store, a wharf, and a steamboat connection. They invested, expanded the businesses, and built homes up the hill. Commerce, community, and family life grew together.

We are lucky that Chip and Margery will be offering a tour of Weems on Tuesday, October 27, at 4:30. Participants are asked to arrive at the Tides Inn where they will board a boat and make the crossing on Carter Creek.

We hope to see you there!

10/24/2026

Recently, the Steamboat Era Museum hosted the Old Dominion Packard Club!

In a time before the interstate system and reliable state highways, these cars connected the people and businesses that built our region. While it was the adoption of both interstates and highways that led to the decline of steamboats, we don't hold a grudge!

Stop by the museum and learn more today.

10/22/2026

Wharf Wednesday 10/21/2026 Baltimore and the 1904 Fire

Last Wharf Wednesday, the final photograph of Baltimore was from 1872. Many new buildings were added after the Civil War.
1.The first picture today is from 1885 showing the Light Street Wharf.
2.The second picture below is looking northward from Federal Hill in 1901.

On February 7, 1904, a fire started in the basement of the John Hurst Building and burned until Monday February 8. Over 1,500 buildings were destroyed, and about 1,000 were heavily damaged in an area of 140 acres. The cost estimate was $100 million or about $3.6 billion in 2026.

After burning for 31 hours, an 80-block area of the downtown area, stretching from the waterfront to Mount Vernon on Charles Street, had been destroyed. Miraculously, official reports said no lives were lost and Baltimore’s domed City Hall, built in 1867, was preserved.

The Great Baltimore Fire was the most destructive fire in the United States since the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. https://box414assoc.com/museum/the-great-baltimore-fire/
https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/historypolitics/great-baltimore-fire-1904/
3. Third photo is Light Street 1901
4. Fourth photo is the Harbor District.
5. Fifth picture is the Business District.
6. Last photo is the rebuilt and widened Light Street in 1908.

10/18/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out for our Irvington walking tour.

Museum supporters got a chance to walk down Steamboat Road and stand where photographs were taken more than 100 years ago. We are grateful to Mark and Prentiss Lay for hosting the group on their historic property.

Keep your eyes open for more opportunities to journey through time in the near future!

We invite you to become a museum member today; your support preserves the memory of our communities and gets you first access to events like these: https://steamboateramuseum.org/membership/

10/17/2026

Have no fear, the porch is here!

We are monitoring the weather forecast for our walking tour on Steamboat Road. Thankfully, it looks like the morning rain will move off before we start at 1:30 PM.

If the weather forecasters are lying, as is sometimes the case, we have a great big porch to enjoy drinks, food, and history under.

We hope to see you there!

10/14/2026

Join us this weekend, October 17, for a stroll down Steamboat Road and Irvington’s history!

Park (where legal!) on Steamboat Road and meet us at Prentiss and Mark Lay’s house at 1:30 PM for light refreshments and the tour.

We hope to see you there: https://steamboateramuseum.org/speaker-series/

10/08/2026

Wharf Wednesday 10/7/2026 Baltimore Harbor 1851-1872

In 1851, H.H. Clark, a professional photographer, set up his camera on Federal Hill and took the first known photos of Baltimore’s port. Baltimore by this time had expanded far beyond its early days of exporting wheat and flour to Europe and the West Indies in the 1820s. Shoe making and clothing factories appeared. Practical canning methods for oysters, fruits and vegetables began in 1847 and imports of tea, coffee, sugar, wines and fruits from Europe were received. Exports of to***co, grain, flour continued but now so were exports of cotton cloth, hardware, canned foods and other consumer goods.

The photographs below were collected in a small 1963 pamphlet by The Peale, a Baltimore museum established in 1814 by Rembrandt Peale, which is still in existence today. https://thepeale.org/

Address

156 King Carter Drive
Irvington, VA
22480

Telephone

+18044386888

Website

http://www.steamboateramuseum.org/, https://steamboateramuseum.org/events/, https://steamboateramuseum.org/donate/, http

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