becky thatcher riverboat

Rolling on the River: Gateway Arch Riverboat Cruises

No visit to the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis is complete without a riverboat tour of the Mississippi! Step back in time as you board the Becky Thatcher or Tom Sawyer and take a tranquil tour of the riverfront.

Before interstate highways crisscrossed the nation, people did their luxury traveling by train and steamboat. St. Louis was a bustling river town in the 1800’s with hundreds of steam powered paddlewheelers docked on riverfront! There’s a cool display of what St. Louis looked like back then at the Arch’s new museum –be sure to check it out on your next visit.

Riverboat Cruise at the Arch

The riverboats can take your family on a hour long tour of the riverfront –there’s a sightseeing cruise running every day from March to November.

But if you want to make it really special–book a dinner or brunch cruise! The Becky Thatcher is set up with a double decker dining room and takes visitors on a two-hour tour of the riverfront while you dine on a delicious buffet.

Brunch on the Riverboat Becky Thatcher

Sunday Brunch Cruises are a great way to celebrate Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Of course you don’t need a special occasion to enjoy a wonderful weekend at the Arch with your family! There’s one or two brunch cruises scheduled every month the boats operates. Check out their current schedule under “specialty cruises” here.   There’s also dinner cruises, dancing cruises, and a couple cruises up to see the lock and dam where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet!

What’s included with my ticket?

Your brunch ticket includes a buffet full of scrambled eggs, blintzes, French toast, sausage, prime rib, stuffed chicken, veggies, pasta, dessert, and coffee, iced tea, orange juice, milk and chocolate milk. Soft drinks, beer and cocktails are available at the bar for an extra charge.

What to Expect on your Riverboat Brunch Cruise

First, you’ll want to reserve your spot early by getting tickets online . Tickets are $45 for adults, $18 for kids 3-12 and free for little ones under 2. 

The boats are docked at the foot of the Gateway Arch. Stop by the ticket office to pick up your tickets by 12:30 — the boat leaves promptly at 1pm!

Then you’ll come aboard and be directed to your seat. Unlike the sightseeing tours, the Brunch Cruise has reserved indoor seating with white linen table clothes. Tables are located by the windows, so you can enjoy the whole cruise from the comfort of the cabin, or pop upstairs to watch from the observation deck. 

The food might be served buffet style, but you’ll also get a friendly waiter to serve your drinks and clear the plates. Don’t worry about standing in line either, the serving staff dismisses diners by table so the buffet isn’t overwhelmed.

And while you wait, enjoy a little Dixieland music!

Where do I park?

Best Photos of the Arch are Here

If you’re looking to get a postcard photo of the Gateway Arch, a riverboat cruise is where to be! You can also get a pretty cool one from the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park over on the East Side, but you don’t need to worry about pesky power lines messing up your shot here. ( Here’s a few more ideas for great photos with the Arch! )

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Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Essex Steam Train & Riverboat

Timeless. Beautiful. Captivating. This year, step back in time to historic 1892 Essex Station and embark on an unforgettable 2.5-hour journey into the heart of the unspoiled Connecticut River Valley. A steam locomotive pulls vintage coaches on a narrated round-trip through the quintessential New England towns of Deep River and Chester.

It's fun for everyone... with all the bells and whistles. 

Essex Steam Train offers unique access to several coves and preserves, immersing passengers in an onboard eco-excursion. Don’t forget your camera. When you arrive at Deep River Landing, your steam train & riverboat excursion continues aboard the multi-deck, Becky Thatcher riverboat for a relaxing 1-1/4-hour cruise along the Connecticut River before returning to Essex Station via steam locomotive.

Essex Station is more than a family railroad attraction with a train-themed gift shop. We’re a destination for your special events, weddings, and other facility rentals with plenty of parking. Need your event catered? We do that, too. Visit our website for details. 

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You are here: Home » Travel Logs » St Louis, Missouri » Mississippi Riverboat Cruise on the Becky Thatcher

Mississippi Riverboat Cruise on the Becky Thatcher

The last major thing that we did during our St. Louis trip was to take a dinner cruise, on the Becky Thatcher, along the Mississippi River. Although it was raining profusely here at home in Kentucky (May 13, 2012) , we had a glorious, sunny day for our jaunt down the river.

Photo: Above, (Left): My mother at the riverboat dock Above, (Top, R) Our trusty Captain and Co-Captain, Above (Bottom, R): The talented musicians who entertained us with ragtime music.

You just wouldn’t believe the food that was provided on this dinner cruise: huge shrimp, salads of every type imaginable, prime rib, chicken cordon bleu, fruits, vegetables, and a sinful array of desserts. It’s going to take a while for me to drop the extra pounds I picked up over the course of this wonderful vacation, but at least it was totally worth it!

And, of course . . . I would be remiss if I didn’t remark on the fabulous views from the boat. Not only was the arch clearly visible, but much of the city of St. Louis, as well as all of the sights that go along with the river itself: barges, the brother boat to the Becky Thatcher (which is, of course . . . the Tom Sawyer), old manufacturing plants, beautiful bridges, etc. . . It was a lovely day, a lovely cruise, and one of the most relaxing experiences I have had in quite some time.

The end of the riverboat cruise also marked the end of our St. Louis adventure, but we all felt exhilarated by all of the wonderful things we had done and seen, so we were all ready to get back to our homes. We stopped in an out-of-the-way little spot for a bite of supper several hours into our drive home, and found this beautiful sunset (photo by my mother) . . . it was a lovely sight to behold, and a special way to end our wonderful vacation.

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Becky Thatcher Riverboat

Photo Credit: Allie Marsh

Deep river , connecticut | c.1961.

Sporting smokestacks and three decks, the Becky Thatcher Riverboat looks as if it was plucked right off the Mississippi River during the late 19th century. Instead, the riverboat is very much a 20th century creation that travels the Connecticut River from the town of Deep River.

The origins of Deep River date back to the 1640s. Established by European settlers, the town began as a peasant village within the Saybrook Colony in Connecticut. In the early 19th century, small towns began to branch off of Saybrook, and the newly introduced railroad system started to connect these prospering towns throughout New England. By 1947, Saybrook changed its name to Deep River.

Deep River thrived as a shipbuilding and quarrying town and became the United States’ leading importer of ivory. From 1840 to 1940, as much as 90% of the world’s ivory came through Deep River with its primary purpose being to manufacture piano keys. The town grew so prosperous that it became known as “the queen of the valley”.

Two decades after the ivory trade closed, the 70-foot Becky Thatcher Riverboat was built. Designed as an 1870s-style Mississippi riverboat, passengers would board the ship from Deep River and take the Essex Steam Train back.

Today’s replica of the Becky Thatcher continues America’s longstanding riverboat tradition. These vessels once ruled the rivers in the 19th century. During the 1860s, even a young writer was inspired by his time working on steamboats when choosing his pseudonym, “Mark Twain” – a term used to note that a river was deep enough to navigate. Twain would later retire in Redding, CT, only an hour west of Deep River.

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Essex Steam Train & Riverboat

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Essex Steam Train & Riverboat adventure is perfect for large groups – a beautiful train ride to the docks of the Becky Thatcher riverboat to a relaxing cruise on the Connecticut River and a return train ride back to Essex Station (2.5 hours total time). 

2023 Schedule

May 13 – June 18:  Saturday & Sundays  AND Monday May 29

June 22 – August 28:  Thursday – Mondays (Closed Tuesday and Wednesday)

September 1 – September 25:  Friday – Mondays (Closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)

September 28 – October 29:  Thursday – Mondays (Closed Tuesday and Wednesday)

11:00 am, 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm = (1) Hour Train Excursion OR (2.5) Hour Train & Riverboat Excursion

Caboose Weekends : May 13 & 14, June 3 & 4, July 1 & 2, August 5 & 6, September 2 & 3, October 7 & 8

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• 1 Railroad Ave, Essex, CT 06426, USA
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• Monday - --> 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
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View Thousands of Swallows From the Decks of the Becky Thatcher Riverboat

• Board Train at Essex Station at 4:30 p.m. for a 5:00 p.m. departure
• 3-hour cruise down the Connecticut River aboard the Becky Thatcher riverboat
• Train brings you back to Essex Station between 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (depending upon time of Swallow event)
• Food and bar service available at the fully stocked bar (Due to our liquor permit, no BYOB allowed)
• Due to time and length of excursion, the Swallow Cruise is not recommended for children under the age of 10 

Essex Steam Train and Riverboat

• September 22, 2017

Connecticut's Taco And Tequila Cruise Makes For An Unforgettable Evening

Natalie Clunan

Natalie is a writer and travel enthusiast who loves uncovering new places along the East Coast. Contact: [email protected]

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We recently gave you the map to Connecticut’s Margarita Marathon , a short walking tour taking you to fantastic Mexican eateries to sample flavorful cocktails. Today you’ll need to steady your sea legs because this Taco And Tequila Cruise is a spicy summer adventure you can’t refuse.

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Echoes of the Past

Exploration of the Past

The Sad Story of Becky Thatcher Riverboat Steamer

I found some photos today that I thought had been lost and I had always been a little sad about it.  But sorting through an old PC, I was thrilled to find the photos that I had taken with an old Kodak while on holiday in America, back in 2004.  In those days I really only used a camcorder, the camera was back up, but I remember I had taken the camera with me to visit a very special boat the ‘Becky Thatcher’

We were staying with my brother in Marietta, Ohio and one night we went to visit one of his acquaintances through his work, on a Steamboat that was moored in the river.  I was so excited, ok it wasn’t going anywhere, but that didn’t matter, a real Riverboat Steamer.  The photos are not great, but they are a record of our visit and to me now, are my record of a little piece of history which is no more.  We visited her when she had just stopped being used as a theatre, and I managed to take one photo of the area which had been the theatre.  I only wish that I had taken more, but I am really lucky that I found these photos.  The following is the history and sad ending of the ‘Becky Thatcher’

The Becky Thatcher was originally built as Mississippi (III), an inspection boat of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, in 1926. Her steel hull and machinery were new but the cabins came from her predecessor, the Mississippi (II). Although she was primarily a workboat she was outfitted with comfortable accomodations for 65 passengers. Because of her Texas deck she resembles more a packet boat than a workboat.

On April 19, 1961, she was retired and in 1963 sold to Mark Twain Enterprises of St. Louis, MO. In 1964 she was towed to Hannibal, MO, to serve as a restaurant and museum. In 1965 she was purchased by St. Louis Investment Co. and towed back to St. Louis. She was renamed to Becky Thatcher and extensivley restorated between June 1968 and February 1969. The boilers were removed and in 1973 also the engines which were sold to the New Orleans Steamboat Company. The Becky Thatcher broke her mooring lines in 1969 during a storm and was swept downstream. With 100 people aboard she passed two bridges but did not suffer any severe damages. The restaurant closed in 1974.

In 1975 the boat was purchased by a group of intersted citizens of Marietta, OH. They planned to bring her to Marietta as part of the Bicentennial project. Those citizens formed a not-for-profit corporation, the Ohio Showboat Drama Inc.. In September 1975 the Becky Thatcher was towed to Marietta, OH. In 1976 the production “Showboat” was performed by the Mid-Ohio Valley Players on the decks and an adjacent barge with 3,000 people watching from the shore.

In August 1977 the Becky Thatcher opened as a showboat after remodeling her first deck into a theatre. One month later the second and third deck opened as restaurant aera. The Becky Thatcher was moored near the W. P. Snyder Jr. on the Muskingum river.

The Becky Thatcher was entered into the National register of Historic Places by the National Park Service in October 1983. In 1984 the boat sank during a spring flood with heavy damage to her hull and superstructure but she was raised and returned after repairs for the 1985 season.

After having been out of service for a few years the Becky Thatcher was sold and towed to a mooring on Neville Island in the Ohio River, Pittsburgh, Pa, in October 2009.

During severe weather conditions, the Becky sank during the weekend of February 20-21, 2010. Her decks collapsed and the venerable vessel declared a total loss, the firm of Delta Demolition was contracted to remove the wreckage from the river. Heartbreaking images were published in newspapers and on web sites showing a clamshell and scoop removing huge pieces of the superstructure and dumping them on shore. The Becky had finally come to the end of a long and illustrious career spanning nearly 85 years.

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22 Replies to “The Sad Story of Becky Thatcher Riverboat Steamer”

Sad story for such a lovely boat, thanks for the history. I think you put in an incorrect year somewhere. If she went down for the last time in 2010, you would have had trouble getting these pictures in 2014. 😉

It was 2004 🙂 I am having trouble with the internet at the moment and couldn’t change it quick enough, I think I have now. It was such a shame about the boat, but I glad I was able to visit 🙂

Tis sad but she had a busy lovely life. We have riverboats on the Savannah River, they are neat to ride and dine in. Enjoyable post!

Glad you enjoyed the post and I bet those riverboats on the Savannah River are beautiful 🙂

They are. 😊 if you google Savannah Ga, riverboats it shows a small photo of one

That’s sad, but I’m glad you found the photos to share with us. Thanks for putting them up here.

Glad you liked them, I’m just glad I got to visit 🙂

😦 That’s a sad story! But, it gives me hope. She basically has the lifespan of a human and lived a life of both triumph and defeat. 🙂

Yes she did, and three America Presidents sailed on her, I forgot to mention that 🙂 I just thought that I needed to do a post on her…..gone but not forgotten 🙂

Thanks for sharing the story and the photos. Brick

Thanks Brick, glad you found it of interest 🙂

Thanks so much for your story. I spent two summers aboard The Becky Thatcher, tripping across the boards of her stage, and blowing off steam in her bar with my castmates upstairs in her bar. So many wonderful memories aboard her! Very sad to hear she is no more. We often stood on the small deck outside the dressing room to watch other boats go by, including the Delta Queen. Or looked aft to see the Mississippi Queen moored downriver (too large to travel up where we were).

Thank you for your comment, it has been lovely to hear from someone who has actually played on the little stage. I got quite a thrill when we visited her and was so sad to hear that she had sunk, I only wished I had taken better photos at the time, but some are better than none and I am really pleased that I posted about her and it brought back happy memories for you 🙂

There is a part of the Becky Thatcher’s history no closely covered here that make her history a bit brighter, given her abrupt parting at her final mooring in Pittsburgh. In the summer of 1977, Ron Loreman and Kent Nelson, two professors at Marietta College, began producing and directing series of old showboat style melodramas, performed on the former engine deck of the Becky Thatcher. It has been carefully renovated into a theatre to seat about 200 people, with a small stage at one end. I had the privilege of standing behind the curtain on opening night. The show was ’10 Nights in a Barroom’ and I played the character of “Joe Morgan”, the drunkard. As it turned out, the sort of sappy, moralistic tone of the old melodramas lent itself to being able to derive humor while trying to perform them as authentically as possible (i.e. using the melodramatic acting style). Opening night the summer of 1977 was a full house, and patrons had paid $200 a seat as a benefit performance. The performances became quite a draw in Marietta for several years, with busloads of patrons coming in to attend. Becky had quite a few full houses during the age of the reborn “Showboat Becky Thatcher”. Students from all over the southeast US came to audition, for most, if not all, it was a first experience in a professionally run operation. That first year, I myself was paid $120 a week and a free room. Loreman and Nelson made it clear, from the beginning, that participation on the Becky was going be different than the usual fall and spring semester college theatre productions. And it was. In August, it was not ususual to be rehearsing one play in the morning, doing a dress rehearsal of a 2nd play in the afternoon, while putting on a performance of a 3rd play in the evening. There were 8 performances a week, in repertoire. And there were musical, dance acts, joke telling during intermissions between the 3 acts. We were expected to write about the experience at the end of the season, and I recall remaking how transforming, and remarkable, the first season was. I came back for a 2nd year and it felt like the showboat would have a long history in front of it. I suppose the cost of maintenance eventually made it impractical to keep her operating as as a performance restaurant venue. But when on board there really was nothing like her atmosphere. It’s not surprising she was registered as a historical place in the early 80’s. I wish that could have somehow remained in Marietta, as such, indefinitely. Your last b&w photo above, shows the spot where we sat, outside the tiny dressing room, in the evenings to cool off between acts.

Thank you so much for the added history of the Becky Thatcher, I was just so glad that I got to visit her and take a few photos 🙂

Sorry for my typos above…. ( Wordspace needs an “edit” button in the comments section.

When Becky ‘sank’ in 1984, it was a matter of her setting her hull down on a pile of debris left over from the removal of Lock and Dam Number 1 along that west wall. Becky was moved from the east bank after a barge sank between her and the river bank. In a short period of time, almost overnight, the river dropped. Becky holed herself and sat there over time while the river reached flood stage. When it became necessary to go with the third salvage company, I never thought she would be raised. When she ‘sank’ again in 2010, it wasn’t because of a winter storm or several inches of snow on her roof that lead to her demise. Some time during the night of February 20-21, while she sat in seclusion behind the abandoned shipyard at Neville Island, she was impacted by a barge or another boat that drove her into the concrete filled caissons ahead of her, crushing her hull and knocking her superstructure off center, healing her over to port and taking on water. It wouldn’t have taken long before she was on the bottom.

Thank you Mike for the new information, I was just happy that we had visited her when she was still afloat 🙂

In the late ’90’s, i stood at my easil across the Muskingham River in Marietta Ohio and painted the Becky Thatcher sternwheel steamboat which was across the bank. As i stood there for a few hours, a piece of board floated up to me and i pulled it from the waters. By the look of the wear on the 14″ board, it looked as though it had made many a mile on its voyage. After the board dried, i began a little oil study on the board as I continued painting on the panel at my easel. A few years later i mailed the painting to Musical genius and Riverboat pilot John Hartford. He called me not long befoer he died of non hodgekins lymphoma in 2001. Recently i contacted his daughter inquiring of the painting to which she lead me to the Archieves at Missouri State university. I still have the little riverboard with the Becky Thatcher on it hanging from fishing line and looks like it floats in the breeze. Thanks for your photos and other folks’ recollections.

Hi Kevin, Thank you so much for your recollections, which add to the story of Beckey Thatcher. I have always been so pleased that we visited her when we did and it’s lovely to hear other people stories about her. I hope other stories will follow. Thank you Lynne 🙂 I would love to see your painting of her.

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Swallow sunset cruises on the becky thatcher riverboat, board the train at essex station at 4:30 p.m. for a 5:00 p.m. departure.

3-hour cruise down the Connecticut River aboard the Becky Thatcher Riverboat

Train brings you back to Essex Station between 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (depending upon time of Swallow event) Food and bar service available at the fully stocked bar (Due to our liquor permit, no BYOB allowed) Due to time and length of excursion, the Swallow Cruise is not recommended for children under the age of 10

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Old Salt Blog

A virtual port of call for all those who love the sea , hosted by nautical novelist rick spilman.

Historic riverboat, Becky Thatcher, sinks in Ohio River

Historic riverboat sinks in Ohio River The Becky Thatcher had a long and lustrous history. Built in 1926 in Jefferson, Ind., as The Mississippi (III) by the Army Corps of Engineers, the stern-wheeler originally was used for inspecting and surveying rivers. Despite being a workboat, it was outfitted with comfortable accommodations for 65 passengers.

The boat was retired in 1961 and in 1963 was sold to Mark Twain Enterprises, which set it up as a restaurant and museum in Hannibal, Mo. In the late 1960s, it was towed to St. Louis, where it was renamed the Becky Thatcher and extensively restored.

In the years that followed, the boat was used as a floating dinner theater and a bar and restaurant. In 1975, it was purchased by a group of citizens in Marietta as part of that town’s bicentennial celebration. Moored along Front Street on the Muskingum River, the first production performed aboard it by the Mid-Ohio Valley Players in 1976 was “Showboat.”

The National Park Service entered the boat into the National Register of Historic Places in October 1983.

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The Valley Railroad Company

The Valley Railroad Company – operating the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat – has been serving the lower Connecticut River Valley since 1971. Our company’s mission is to keep alive the rich mechanical, industrial, and transportation heritage of our state through the continual operation of our vintage steam and diesel locomotives and passenger coaches, as well as the operation & maintenance of the facilities and infrastructure that support these. We welcome visitors from throughout the state of Connecticut, the New England region and all over the world to ride our railroad, relax aboard our riverboat and visit our unique facilities.

Calendar of Events

2024 Event Listings

Click below to purchase tickets:

Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Excursions

Taco & tequila cruise, sold out- princess academy and royal tea, plan your visit.

Getting Here

If you have specific questions regarding Essex Steam Train events, offerings and operations, contact us today!

1 Railroad Ave, Essex, CT 06426

860-767-0103 or 800-377-3987, [email protected].