Towboat Tours at June's Grafton (IL) Great Rivers Towboat Festival

Rarely considered river towboats move barges up and down the Mississippi, each barge hauling 15 times the cargo of a rail car and 60 times more than a tractor-trailer truck. They are an unappreciated element of the cargo-hauling industry.

You can get an insight into the world of today's rivermen who work the Mississippi River June 19th and 20th, 2010 at the Great Rivers Towboat Festival. Always held the fourth weekend of June, the event is being held on the riverfront at Grafton, Illinois, along the Mississippi River north of St Louis.

A Little Background

Steamboats began the towing tradition on Old Man River when they began pushing barges in the 1850's as a way of supplementing their income. By 1930, combustion engines had taken over the job of providing the needed power.

The annual event includes, weather permitting, free tours of two working towboats such as the Mary Harter which do the heavy work of getting barges to their destination (12pm-4pm daily). Moving through the passageways, guides will point out the huge engines (hard to miss), the crew's quarters, and even the sensitive green-on-black radar screen in the wheelhouse that keeps them safe from collision. It's a very educational experience. Thinking of the work the rivermen have to do on those slippery decks, especially with winter ice, will give you an appreciation for the dedication they bring to their jobs.

Other Activities

Besides the towboat tours, there'll be plenty of food, including barbecue cooked up in the appropriate towboat-shaped cooker, Pork N Canoe. Chef Ralph Smith will hold a crawfish and shrimp boil and demonstrate how to properly eat the results.

There will be deckhand and rope-throwing contests, activities geared towards the kids, model boat exhibits provided by the St Louis Admirals Club, and historical and educational displays mounted by the US Coast Guard and US Army Corps of Engineers. A huge flea market with more than 70 vendors will be set up in the Grafton Boat Works with everything from antiques and glassware to tools and candles.

There are always authors of books about the Mississippi River and related industry, as well as artists on hand, happy to comment on their works which they have available.

Musical entertainment is provided by Matt Taul and Friends with folk, bluegrass, and Americana.

The event runs 10am to 5pm daily. For information, call 618-786-3494.

More in Grafton

For a little bonus experience, ride the Grafton Ferry which makes regular, 10-minute, nonstop runs from Illinois across to Missouri from downtown Grafton starting at 6am weekdays, 8am Saturday, and 10am Sunday. You don't even need a car but can ride as a pedestrian at a cost of $3, $5 for a round-trip. With vehicle, the cost is, of course, higher. See their website for prices and details.

You can also spend some time in downtown Grafton along the Great River Road with its antique shops, eateries, and other places of interest.