Verne Swain

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Verne Swain refers to three steamboats built by the Swain Shipyard in Stillwater, Minnesota. They were made in 1886, 1904, and 1913, all powered by steam.

First Verne Swain (1886)
- Built by David Swain for river service. It carried cargo, passengers, and special "Texas" deck space, and used two side paddlewheels.
- It operated between Clinton, Iowa and Davenport, Iowa. In 1889, John Streckfus bought it for $10,000.
- Later, Eagle Packet Company took it for Peoria, Illinois to St. Louis service (1891). In 1900, Dixon Brothers of Peoria bought it and renamed it Speed.

Second Verne Swain (1904)
- This was designed for excursion work and was a sternwheeler with a wooden hull.
- It ran excursions from Peoria, Illinois to the World’s Fair in St. Louis.
- It changed owners several times while serving Mississippi and Tennessee rivers, and it sank in August 1929 at Dismal Point, Arkansas.

Third Verne Swain (1913)
- Built for Illinois River excursions.
- In 1918, Captain Fred Hornbrook bought it and sent the 186-foot sidewheeler on a packet run between Wheeling, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- It was later renamed Rose Island, then Roosevelt, and finally City of Memphis.