Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the National Rivers Hall of Fame announced a pair of inductees into the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The late Ed Smith and late Gouverneur Kemble Warren had their contributions to the rivers of America eternally recognized as they join more than 100 of the most influential men and women in river history. The voting process includes a ballot sent to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium membership, comprised of 12,000 members, and members of the National Rivers Hall of Fame board.
The Hall of Fame was founded on the belief that rivers and their advocates are major catalysts for the economic and cultural development of America. Established in 1985, the organization joined the Dubuque County Historical Society (DCHS) to be the permanent home for its collections, stories, and exhibits on these impactful individuals. With the opening of the River Museum in 2003, the National Rivers Hall of Fame found a home in the National River Center. The organization continues to work with members of DCHS to identify stories and persons of interest to induct into the Hall of Fame.
Ed Smith (1914-1989)
Ed Smith was one of thousands of firemen who kept the fires burning beneath the boilers of steam-powered riverboats. Born in Parkin, Arkansas along the St. Francis River, he grew up only 30 miles west from the steamboat landing at Beale Street in Memphis.
His first job in the boiler room was on the ADMIRAL, then served on the AVALON and the DELTA QUEEN. It was said he could throw a heavy lock line with such accuracy.
The late Captain Doc Hawley, one of the Hall of Fame’s founders and Class of 2024, recalled how Smith saved the DELTA QUEEN and its passengers and crew from disaster. In 1967, the QUEEN was upbound on the Ohio River and the EXXON WEST VIRGINIA was coming downbound on the one-whistle side with a string of empty gasoline barges. Without warning, the QUEEN’s tiller lines broke, causing her rudders to run hard-over to port. The QUEEN then aimed toward the head of the gas barges, about to penetrate the skin of the barges filled with explosive fumes. Smith bravely prevented an explosion by quickly grabbing a hefty rope bumper and placing it between the two colliding metal surfaces.
Smith saved the QUEEN passengers and crew again in the 1960s. The QUEEN was shoving upbound through a lower lock gate on the Tennessee River. Her three-ton swinging stage (gangplank) was still tied down and projected fifty feet beyond the stem of the bow like an oversized battering ram, aimed for the approaching gates. Smith snatched a long-handled axe and chopped the port side gunnel and heel ties where they fastened to the deck. The stage swung safely to starboard, its leading outboard corner slamming the cement lock wall with the sound of a cannon firing. The QUEEN and the lock suffered only cuts, scratches, and bruises. By the time the deckhands reclaimed their territory on the bow, Smith was back in the boiler room attending to the fires.
Smith was one of the best-known skilled firemen to work on America’s rivers and the first to be considered, and then inducted, into the National Rivers Hall of Fame.
Gouverneur Kemble (G.K.) Warren (1830-1852)
Gouverneur Kemble (G.K.) Warren was born in Cold Spring, New York on January 8, 1830. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Military Academy in 1850 and was commissioned into the U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers.
Warren participated in the exploration surveys and maps in the 1850s for portions of the trans-Mississippi West. He was the first topographical engineer to explore the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1856, he consulted the leaders of the ten-year-old Smithsonian Institution and then led a team of thirty-four men including geologist Ferdinand Harden to travel up the Missouri. Warren then mapped a portion of the Yellowstone River guided by scout Jim Bridger. His leadership created one of the first maps of the United States west of the Mississippi River.
During the Civil War, Warren was known as the “fighting fool of Gettysburg.” He helped turn the famous battle at Little Round Top from defeat to victory with his brilliant leadership and was later promoted to major general. Warren then returned to the Corps to present civil projects that were well designed, yet maintained Warren’s truly romantic spirit. Warren’s reports on the Mississippi River and its northern tributaries became major reference documents for three succeeding generations of Corps projects in the St. Paul District.
Warren’s extensive studies were unsurpassed for a century. His able promotion of the headwaters reservoir system and the development of the power potential at the Falls of St. Anthony were vital in developing milling and manufacturing at Minneapolis.
Warren was also one of the outstanding creative district engineers in the early history of the St. Paul office. His efforts greatly impacted the growth and development of present-day Minneapolis – St. Paul.
To learn more about the other inductees and the National Rivers Hall of Fame, visit rivermuseum.org/nrhf-inductees.
About National Rivers Hall of Fame
Established in 1985 with 113 national advisors, the mission of the National Rivers Hall of Fame is to collect, preserve, and share the stories of the women and men who have had a significant impact on the rivers of America. Located at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, the Hall of Fame advances its mission through educational programs and exhibits through the Museum & Aquarium, and through its national outreach program, RiverWorks Discovery. The Hall of Fame is supported by members in 36 states.