NATIONAL RIVERS HALL OF FAME TO CELEBRATE INDUCTEE ED SMITH IN ST. LOUIS
DUBUQUE, Iowa — The National Rivers Hall of Fame will celebrate the contributions of the late Ed Smith, a member of its Hall of Fame Class of 2025, on Aug. 21 at 2:30 p.m. at the St. Louis Mercantile Library in St. Louis, Missouri. The honor recognizes those whose work and courage shaped the history of America's rivers, joining more than 100 of the most influential men and women in river history. Light refreshments will be served.
Ed Smith (1914-1989) 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 of the steamboat landing at Beale Street in Memphis. His first boiler-room job was aboard the Admiral, and he later served on the Avalon and the Delta Queen.
In 1967, the Queen was upbound on the Ohio River when her tiller lines broke, sending her rudders hard-over to port and aiming her toward a string of empty gasoline barges filled with explosive fumes. Smith prevented an explosion by quickly wedging a heavy rope bumper between the colliding metal surfaces. On another occasion, as the Queen shoved upbound through a lower lock gate on the Tennessee River, her 3-ton swinging stage remained tied down and projected 50 feet beyond the bow like an oversized battering ram. Smith snatched a long-handled axe and chopped the ties fastening it to the deck, swinging the stage safely clear before returning to the boiler room to attend to the fires. He was the first skilled fireman to be inducted into the National Rivers Hall of Fame.
Smith joins other National Rivers Hall of Fame inductees whose achievements tell the rich history of America's rivers and the profound impact of our waterways. To learn more about the National Rivers Hall of Fame, visit rivermuseum.org/nrhf-inductees.