Picture courtesy of James Kuntz

For nearly a century ferryboats docked along the river bank below [this sign]. Beginning in 1831, at a site one mile west of here called Griswold City, a ferryboat poled across the river daily. By the late 1800's ferryboats were making hourly trips from New Haven to Warren County. Residents north of the river living in communities of Pickney, Piers [now spelt "Peers"], Holstein, Treloar, and Smith Creek used the ferry for travel to New Haven to shop and socialize. High School students used the ferry to attend school in New Haven.

Built with paddlewheels, the early boats were powered by steam engines fueled with wood. The most unusual ferryboat, the "Tilda-Clara", circa 1900, was powered by a team of horses which walked on a treadmill and turned the paddlewheel. Later boats used gasoline engines and carried automobiles and their passengers.

Olive Street, then called Ferry Street, led from the ferryboat landing to Front Street and the railroad station. Many New Haven business, including Grannemann's General Store located along this street benefited from ferryboat traffic. With the completion of the Missouri River bridge at Washington in 1936 ferryboat service was discontinued. Today there is little contact between residents living on opposite sides of the river.

Comments (1)

Jim Kuntz: ... Pinckney was the 1st county seat of Montgomery County, when the county was 1 of 5 in Missouri under Spanish control. That Montgomery county is todaqy broken into 9 seperate counties. Pinckney was directly across from New Haven on the bend, and has been completely erased by the river. Peers, Trelor still exist, struggling since the M-K-T R.R. has quit operations. Holstein is now a farm and residential community. 1 June 22, 2006

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