Alligator (steamboat)

Alligator at Leesburg, Florida (1906 configuration)
History
NameAlligator
OperatorLucas Line
RouteOklawaha, St. Johns rivers
Launched7 October 1888
FateBurned and sank 5 November 1909
General characteristics
Tonnage
  • (1888): 27.7 gross tons
  • (1889): 66.2 gross tons
  • (1894): 69.6 gross tons
Length
  • (1888): 57 ft
  • (1889): 71 ft
  • (1894): 81 ft 4 in (24.79 m)
Beam18 ft 7 in (5.66 m)
Draft3 ft 5 in (1.04 m)
Propulsion
  • (1888): Steam-driven screw
  • (1889): Recesssed stern wheel

The Alligator was an inboard paddle-wheel steamboat that operated in the interior of Central Florida in the United States from 1888 to 1909. Archeologist Clarence Bloomfield Moore leased the steamer each year from 1891 to 1895 for his annual excursions to explore the St. Johns River and tributaries for Native American artifacts.[1] On 5 November 1909, the paddle-steamer caught fire and sank ending its 21 years of service in the passenger and freight business.[2] In December 2008, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program led a search of the east side of Crescent Lake for the sunken wreckage of the Alligator.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b "News and Notes: Shipwreck site". The St. Augustine Record. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  2. ^ Smith, Daniel L. (March 2007). "Alligator, Crescent Lake, Crescent City vicinity, Putnam County, FL" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Library of Congress. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  3. ^ Lane, Marcia (10 December 2008). "Seeking Alligator's resting place". The St. Augustine Record. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2009.