This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Memoirs of Stephen B Hanks Raft Pilot on Upper Mississippi
A fragment from Stephen B Hanks recounts life as a raft pilot in the 1840s. He describes navigating Snake and St Croix rivers, dam breaks, log drives, and raft construction techniques with early crews from Albany. The narrative covers raft assembly, lines, and bracing, plus the first trial runs to St. Louis aboard multi‑string rafts, ending with pride in earning pilot status.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Abraham Lincoln
Nike
Burlington
Town
Fred A. Bill
van Buren Street
St. Paul
Minn
Ald
Wangan
Catteaux
Snake Tiger
St. Croix
Cross Lake
Mississippi
Terial
St. Louis
Albany
Tien
Alfred Slocum
St.Croix
Janly
Roscoe's
Lake Pepin
James
Sandy) McPhail
Ganley
Jim Hickman
Mr. Bruce
Bible
Wm, Ewing
Jim Hug Uin
Mat Thompson
Lover Laird
Jim Withrow
Flack