History
Idlewild operated as a passenger ferry between Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas. She also hauled cargo such as cotton, lumber and grain. She then came to Louisville in 1931 and ran trips between the Fontaine Ferry amusement park near downtown Louisville and Rose Island, a resort about 14 miles upriver from Louisville. Idlewild operated a regular excursion schedule from 1934 through World War II. During the war, she was outfitted with special equipment to push oil barges along the river. She also served as a floating USO nightclub for troops stationed at military bases along the Mississippi River.
After the war, in 1947, she was sold to J. Herod Gorsage, and renamed Avalon. Over the next few years, Avalon visited ports all along the Mississippi, Missouri, St. Croix, Illinois, Kanawha, Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. Her many stops included Omaha, Nebraska; Stillwater, Minnesota; Montgomery, West Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee.
By 1962, Avalon had fallen into disrepair, and might have seen the end of her days, when Jefferson County Judge Marlow Cook bought her at an auction for $34,000. She came to Louisville and was re-christened Belle of Louisville.
Read more about this topic: Belle Of Louisville
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