River Queen on the Lehigh

Summertime 1950

As the summer breeze tickled my arms, I leaned over the pavilion railings and gazed across the river at Adams Island, its cottages reflecting off the still water at the river’s edge. Below me, passengers with their packages and grocery bags were boarding the ferry that would take them across the wide waterway.  The craft’s motors began churning up small waves in the dark green waters as it prepared to depart.

My eight-year-old child’s imagination ran wild, spurred on by the last Tarzan movie I saw. What if there were crocs hiding at the water’s edge? Just floating there quietly, like a log. Nah. For sure, someone would have mentioned it. At least at that point in my life, I’d never heard about anybody finding crocodiles in the Lehigh River. Although, that shadowy waterway could be covering any number of secrets in its murky depths. Even so, crocodiles or not, the ferry looked like a fun ride.

Sighing, I watched the ferry pull away from the dock without me, working its way across the river.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the River Queen had been in service since around 1907. Only back then, passengers had to grasp a cable and pull the vessel along by hand.  Later, an Allentonian named Charles Henry Nadig designed a chain gear drive engine for the ferry, so now passengers could sit back and enjoy the ride. (It is said that Nadig invented the first horseless carriage in the United States around 1889.)

The small craft that voyaged back and forth to Adams Island was vital because it not only transported people, but also carried furniture, groceries, and ice for the iceboxes of residents on the island. As time went on and new cottages were built, a barge was attached to the ferry and it moved sand, cement, stone and various construction materials to the island. 

During the 1930’s, the ferry was lost to a flood, but a new one was soon built continuing the long tradition of transport across the river. 

While ferries have plied the waters of the Lehigh at least since the 1740’s, sadly, most of their stories are now lost to history.

However, I did manage to find a few tales that I thought were quite interesting. 

A ferry, once owned by Captain Abraham Rinker, figured in the transport of the Liberty Bell across the Lehigh when it was brought to Allentown in 1777.  Also, in 1952, a small want ad appeared in the Morning Call looking for a Ferryman. Ferryman to run Adams Island Ferry from May through September, easy work, salary plus year-round living quarters.

But one story I found was quite humorous.  It seems that one enterprising group managed to detached the ferry from its cable, and took the craft on a joy ride on the river, until it was returned at dawn. 

Now, as I see it, the miscreants missed a golden business opportunity. Just imagine, all they had to do was get a few fake crocodiles to float here and there along the river banks, and sell tickets for an excursion.

I’d have paid for that experience.

Cue the jungle drums here!