Montgomery (snagboat)

Montgomery is a steam-powered sternwheel-propelled snagboat built in 1925 by the Charleston Dry Dock and Machine Company of Charleston, South Carolina, and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Montgomery cleared snags and obstructions from the Coosa, Alabama, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Flint, Black Warrior, and Tombigbee Rivers until her retirement from the Corps of Engineers on November 8, 1982. She was restored in 1984 and again in 2004. One of only two surviving Army Corps of Engineers snagboats (along with W.T. Preston), she was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.^[2][3] Montgomery now operates as a museum ship at the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam Visitor Center in Pickensville, Alabama.

Montgomery docked at Pickensville in 2021

Montgomery

Montgomery on the Apalachicola River.
History
United States
Builder	Charleston Dry Dock and Machine Company
Launched	1925
Out of service	November 8, 1982
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics
Length	178 ft (54 m) LOA
Beam	34 ft 3 in (10.44 m)
Depth	6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power	Steam
Propulsion	Sternwheel
Montgomery (snagboat)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location	Pickensville, Alabama
Coordinates	33°12′44″N 88°17′10″W
Built	1925
Architect	Charleston Drydock & Machine Co.
NRHP reference No.	83003521
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 28, 1983[1]
Designated NHL	June 30, 1989[2]

Montgomery is built out of steel plates mounted in a steel frame. Her hull is 156 feet (48 m) long, which extends to 178 feet (54 m) with the addition of the sternwheel. She is 34 feet 3 inches (10.44 m) wide, and has a hold depth of 6 feet (1.8 m). She has a scow-shaped bow and a flat bottom with no keel. She is designed to hold machinery anywhere along the hull length, and to withstand the stresses of pulling on snags. Rows of steel I-beams support its superstructure, including the forward-mounted boom, mounted on an A-frame. The frame is designed to support different types of equipment, including bucket dredges as well as the snag boom. The boom is maneuvered by steam-powered winches, and there are steam-powered capstans to assist in stabilize the boat while snagging. The pilot house is set on a deck above the boilers.^[3]

See also

• WT Preston
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. "Montgomery (snagboat)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
3. Foster, Kevin J. (February 5, 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Montgomery (snagboat)" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved September 6, 2012., and
   "Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 1980 and 1988" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved September 6, 2012.