Oldest Pilothouse
The steamboat TELL CITY was built in 1889 and named for Tell City, Ind. She carried passenger and freight on the Ohio River until she sank following an accident at Little Hocking, Ohio on April 6, 1917.
The Pilothouse was removed from the wreck and served as a summer house on the river front lawn of the Bent family in Little Hocking.
Mrs. Cora Bent presented this Pilothouse to the Ohio Historical Society for inclusion in the historic displays of the Ohio River Museum here in Marietta.
This is the oldest surviving Pilothouse of the sort that Mark Twain knew so well and wrote about. It has been restored to its original condition in 1977 by the J. Mack Gamble Fund of Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen.
Marker is on Front Street, on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
