Hermann Hill Three Mile Walk
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In the middle of the block, cross the railroad tracks, and stroll along the Missouri River in the Riverfront Park.
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The Riverfront Park was a new addition to Hermann in the 1990s,
and is a popular spot to hold local events or just to take a
casual stroll along the banks of the Missouri River.
Activity on the Missouri River at Hermann dates to 1819, well
before the first German settlers arrived here. From 1836 to
1875, our “mountain pilots”, as the steamboat captains were
called, were privileged characters and at the top of one of the
highest paid professions in America. They received from $6,000
to $8,000 for a 2,300-mile trip to Fort Benton, Montana that
lasted from 3 1/2 months to 6 months, and an eight-day trip from
St. Louis to Omaha often earned them $1,000.
The worst boating disaster at the port of Hermann occurred at
the wharf in 1843 when the steamer Big Hatchie blew up and
killed some 70 people, mostly German immigrants seeking new
homes in the Far West. Some 40 of these unfortunate people are
buried on the top of the hill in the city cemetery in unmarked
graves. At the time of the disaster, the Leimer Hotel (across
Wharf St.) was converted to a hospital for a short time.
The first steam ferry boat at Hermann was the W.A. Knapp. In
1864, during the Civil War, this boat took most of the women and
children up to Graf's Island, where they stayed while General
Sterling Price's army went west through Hermann, burning
railroad bridges and shooting up everything that did not strike
their fancy. Before the steamer Knapp operated at Hermann, there
was a hand-powered ferry boat business here.
In about 1880, the Hermann Ferry and Packet Company was started,
and it operated out of Hermann on the Missouri, Osage, and
Gasconade rivers. This little steamboat company was perhaps the
most successful ever organized. At times it paid as much as 200
percent on its investment, and during the more than half century
of its existence, it never lost a boat or damaged a cargo.
From 1845 until the early 1900s, it was river traffic that kept
Hermann on the map. Historians believe that our city should go
down in history as being the most successful river town on the
Missouri. Some 40 steam and gasoline boats and some 30 barges
were built here, and Hermann sent more boat men out on our
rivers than any other place between St. Louis and Fort Benton.
Ferry boat business ceased in Hermann in about 1929, the year
the Missouri River Bridge was completed. Prior to the
construction of the bridge, ferries transported people across
the river. In winter, when the river froze, they could walk from
shore to shore. School children living north of the river often
stayed with families in Hermann during the week to avoid daily
river crossings.
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History of Hermann - How Hermann Got Its Name
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