Operation
During the final decades of the 19th century and early in the 20th century, small paddlesteamers transported freight and tourists back and forth between the upper areas of Florida to the headwaters of lakes in north central Florida.
In 1888, Captain Howard added the Alligator to his small fleet of vessels that ran on the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers providing passenger and freight service.
The Wade brothers bought Alligator on September 9, 1889 and a year later they sold her to Joseph Edward Lucas who owned the steamboat during most of the time of her operation. When Lucas purchased the steamer he ran a small passenger and freight business out of Palatka, Florida.
In April 1891, Clarence Bloomfield Moore contracted with Lucas to use the steamer to explore the St. Johns River and tributaries for his archeological exploration for Native American artifacts. Moore used the paddlesteamer as his base of operation for his annual field work each year between 1891 and 1895. Moore kept a detailed log of his research that notes the travel of the Alligator during his excursions. In 1895, the Jacksonville Florida Times Union noted Moore's final excursion on the Alligator reporting that Moore accompanied by a crew from the Academy of Natural Sciences were exploring Indian mounds along the Ocklawaha.
In 1894 Lucas expanded his holdings of steamboats to compete with the Hart Line. The Alligator in her expanded form gave the company several steamers well-equipped to transport citrus fruit freight and passengers for winter tourist travel on the Silver Springs run. Cold temperatures caused hard economic conditions for both companies. The companies had losses in citrus freight transport and the tourism business. In December 1895, the Palatka Times Herald reported the Hart Line reached an agreement to consolidate with Lucas Line. The arrangement was not a merger of the two companies but an agreement to consolidate the businesses to "maximize the profit of both companies". Both companies survived and went on to compete for almost another decade.
The Lucas Line's main source of income, the Metamora steamboat sank in 1903 causing the company severe financial problems. Alligator was sold on December 7, 1903, to Charles Leonard after the court foreclosure on the boats and other assets. Immediately, Leonard sold the vessel to Captain Peter Cone of Palatka. Cone put the paddlesteamer out of service until November 1905, when he sold the Alligator to Lawrence Dozier and Allen Gibson doing business as "Dozier and Gibson of Eustis". The steamboat operated on the Ocklawaha River and headwaters lakes Lake Eustis at Eustis, and lakes Harris and Griffin at Lessburg. On March 13, 1906, while on a run between Leesburg and Silver Springs, the Alligator struck a snag and sank. There were no injuries among the passengers or crew. The vessel was rebuilt with a configuration suitable for local runs and back in operation again with a single owner, Dozier.
T. Hurd Kooker acquired the Alligator from John F. Horr U.S. Marshall in a sale recorded on April 24, 1909, indicating a forced sale by the court. Kooker operated the paddlesteamer on local lakes until the fire permanently took her out of operation.
Read more about this topic: Alligator (steamboat)
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