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The
City of Hawkinsville is a surprisingly intact survivor of
late 19th-century coastal steamboat technology. Originally built at Abbeville,
Georgia, in 1886 for the Hawkinsville (Georgia) Deepwater Boat Lines, she
was sold in June 1900 to the Gulf Transportation Company of Tampa for use
on the Suwannee River. The City of Hawkinsville was 141 feet
long, with two decks, a single smoke stack, a square stern, and a molded
bow.
She was a post-hurricane newcomer, brought into the river to assist a booming lumber industry. She was the largest and the last steamboat to be stationed on the Suwannee River, serving a route that included Branford, Clay's Landing, Old Town, and Cedar Key. Local accounts contend that The City of Hawkinsville also was instrumental in the construction of the rail bridge at Old Town. In doing so, she quickened her own demise, since the moving of people and goods by rail eventually rendered steamboats obsolete. Although accounts of her last days vary, official registry records indicate that she was in service until May 19, 1922, when her last captain, Mr. Currie, abandoned the vessel and the occupation that could no longer support him. Thus, the steamboating era of the Suwannee River came to an end.
Today, the City of Hawkinsville looks like a story-book ghost ship, lying in shallow water on the west bank of the Suwannee River, south of the old railroad trestle that is now part of the Nature Coast Trail State Park, near Old Town. The hull of the sunken steamer is virtually intact with her bow pointing upriver. From the stempost, one can swim along the entire deck of the vessel to her stern paddlewheel, exploring numerous deck fittings and steam machinery along the way. Inside darkened hatches, mudfish and catfish make their homes.
The City of Hawkinsville is located in shallow water on the western bank of the Suwannee River, about 100 yards south of the railroad trestle (now a part of the Nature Coast Trail State Park) at Old Town. Access to the site is by boat only.
The City of Hawkinsville is marked by a series of buoys on her starboard side, and by mooring buoys approximately 50 feet downstream from her stern. Visitors are asked to tie up to the mooring buoys to prevent anchor damage to the site, and to display a "diver down" flag. Boats are not allowed over the structure of the Hawkinsville shoreward of the marker buoys.
Divers should have advanced open-water training before attempting to dive in this dynamic river environment, which can change depth, current velocity, and visibility depending on rainfall and runoff. Diving the steamboat is not recommended for novices or those uncomfortable with limited underwater visibility. Do not dive into or under the hull. Caution should be taken to avoid sharp edges, rough surfaces, and stray fishing lines that can be encountered on the wreck. The minimum recommended equipment for a safe dive includes:
1) full open water scuba equipment; 2) knife; 3) gloves; and 4) underwater lights.
Diving should not be attempted on the Hawkinsville when the river is above 4 feet on the gauge at nearby Wilcox Station in Fanning Springs, or if water visibility is less than 3 feet. For information on the river's elevation, call the Suwannee River Water Management District weekdays at 1-800-226-1066 to ask for the latest river gauge reading at Wilcox Station. Local dive shops can provide information on diving conditions.
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Ship paintings courtesy of William L. Trotter
