Becky Thatcher
on the Muskingum River

The Becky Thatcher was originally built as Mississippi (III), an inspection boat of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, in 1926. Her steel hull and machinery were new but the cabins came from her predecessor, the Mississippi (II). Although she was primarily a workboat she was outfitted with comfortable accommodations for 65 passengers. Because of her Texas deck she resembles more a packet boat than a workboat.

In 1975 the boat was purchased by a group of intersted citizens of Marietta, OH. They planned to bring her to Marietta as part of the Bicentennial project. Those citizens formed a not-for-profit corporation, the Ohio Showboat Drama Inc.. In September 1975 the Becky Thatcher was towed to Marietta, OH. In 1976 the production "Showboat" was performed by the Mid-Ohio Valley Players on the decks and an adjacent barge with 3,000 people watching from the shore.

In August 1977 the Becky Thatcher opened as a showboat after remodeling her first deck into a theatre. One month later the second and third deck opened as restaurant aera. The Becky Thatcher is moored near the W. P. Snyder Jr. on the Muskingum river.

The Becky Thatcher was entered into the National register of Historic Places by the National Park Service in October 1983.

In 1984 the boat sank during a spring flood with heavy damage to her hull and superstructure but she was raised and returned after repairs for the 1985 season.