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One of the most successful businesses in Wheeling's past was that of building riverboats. On Saturday, guided walking tours, co-sponsored by the Victorian Old Town Association and Friends of Wheeling, will feature a sampling of some of the remaining houses of those who were involved in the business.
Continuous, free tours will run from 9 a.m. to noon, in connection with a neighborhood sidewalk sale. John Bowman, author of several books on riverboats, will be available at 653 Main St. to answer questions and display his books and his model of the A.M. Phillips steamboat. Tours will begin at the same location.
From 1815 to 1900, Wheeling completed 225 steamboats, beginning with the Washington and ending with the City of Wheeling in 1900. The legacy remains, however, with residents enjoying a step back in history during the annual Sternwheel Festival.
James Pemberton opened the first boat yard in North Wheeling in 1815. He built keelboats and later steamboat hulls, superstructures and cabins. Thomas Bell and his son, David, established a flatboat yard in 1816 and began building steamboats in 1826. David Bell later had a long career with the Sweeney Co. At one point, he lived at 720 Main St.
In the spring of 1816, Henry Shreve launched the first successful steamboat that could travel upstream with cargo. The Washington was built in Wheeling with the assistance of master carpenter Anthony Dunlevy. Dunlevy's son, William, worked as an apprentice under his father and later partnered with steamboat captain John McLure Jr., nephew of the owner of the hotel bearing his name.
The industry received a major boost with the 1832 arrival of Arthur M. Phillips who established a foundry along the river behind 653 Main St. He was named the local inspector of boilers and hulls by President James Buchanan. However, his signature on the Ordinance of Secession, a vote favoring Virginia's departure from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War, caused him to be labeled a traitor and to lose this position.
In the 1850s, the Sweeney family, most often remembered for glass manufacturing, began production of steamboat machinery. In 1884, the Sweeneys purchased a Pennsylvania boatyard that manufactured sternwheel hulls that were fitted with Sweeney boilers.
Local firms that made hulls included Wilson, Dunlevy & Wheeler - with William H. Dunlevy, son of the carpenter who built the 1816 Washington, and William Penn Wilson, ancestor of William Pannell Wilson, in whose honor Wilson Lodge was named. The family's W.A. Wilson Co. is still in business.
Most of the North Wheeling manufacturing work took place to the north of the residential section or along the river behind the homes. Wheeling city directories show numerous North Wheeling residents who were involved in steamboat manufacturing or servicing, and some of their homes remain.
Phillips' home is located at 653 Main St. Nearly destroyed by fire in 1996, it was rebuilt 10 years later, retaining its facade, including the second-story lintel that bears the date 1831.
To the north, at 629 Main St., is the home of Daniel Dunbar, a riverboat engineer who joined with Phillips' son, James, in the machinery and boat building business. His house has been altered over the years, but the original remains under the newer siding.
The home of master carpenter William Dunlevy is at 635 Main St. Over the years, the Dunlevy name was associated with those of McLure, Wilson, Hanes and Wheeler as they built riverboat hulls. James E. Hanes, one of partners in the firm, lived at 715 Main St. in the 1880s and then at 644 Main St. until his death in 1913.
Riverboat engineer Alfred Marks lived at 725 Main St. His sudden death occurred on board the Ben Hur, when he suffered a stroke while repairing some machinery. Charles H. Berry lived across the street at 722-724 Main. His company manufactured items used in the steamboat building and operating businesses. The Berry Supply business continues to this day, although its product line has changed over the years.
Thomas Sweeney, father of Andrew and T. Campbell Sweeney, lived at 742 Main St. until moving to a mansion at 847 Main and later to Wheeling Island. He and his sons ran a North Wheeling foundry that produced stoves, agricultural machinery and steamboat machinery. He also served as the first president of the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Co., which owned the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.
James McDonald, who lived at 813 Main St., was a riverboat captain during the "golden age" of steamboating, 1850-65. His career spanned 60 years, and his three sons followed the same path.
Riverboat engineer Peter Seybold owned the row houses numbered 822-828 Main St., living in 828. He also owned an apartment building, which bears his name, to the north of the row houses.
Many of the houses from the riverboat era have been lost. The Wilson mansion, home of William Pannell Wilson's son and business partner, William A. Wilson, was located where Convenient now stands. Thomas Sweeney's impressive riverfront mansion at 847 Main is gone, although a beautiful house replaced it.
Also demolished were homes that once stood just to the north of Riverview Towers. Well-respected riverboat captain T. Campbell Sweeney lived for many years at 527 Main St. His brother, Andrew J. Sweeney, lived at 529 Main St. They worked in the family's North Wheeling foundry. Andrew served as mayor in 1861-63, 1865-66 and 1875-81; he is also credited with bringing electricity to Wheeling.