After ten years in Clarington, Ohio the board of the Ohio Valley River Museum is pleased to announce plans for future developments at Hannibal Locks and Dam after moving from its current location on September 1.
The river museum first opened its doors in 2010 inside the Ohio Valley Community Federal Credit Union’s former Clarington branch, which was leased to the organization for $1 per year with all utilities paid by the credit union.
In 2016, the museum entered into a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Pittsburgh District Army Corps of Engineers to reopen the visitor’s center at the Hannibal Locks and Dam, which has since been visited by more than 15,000 people from all over the United States and around the world.
The museum was formally named an adjunct organization of the Sons and Daughter of Pioneer Rivermen in 2019, which owns part of the museum’s current collection and has been instrumental in its development. Later that year, the museum was donated the historic J.A. CRESAP sternwheeler that was built in Clarington at Mozena Bros. Boatyard in 1923. It is the last surviving wooden-hulled sternwheel vessel of its kind in the United States. The vessel was transported by super load 750 miles from Guttenberg, Iowa to the Hannibal Industrial Park in Hannibal, Ohio last November.
Plans are underway by the museum and Pittsburgh District Corps of Engineers to restore the historic vessel to its original 1923 appearance and permanently display it at Hannibal Locks and Dam in a new visitor’s center facility.
“This is an exciting time for our museum as we look to the future. We are preparing for a new chapter at Hannibal Locks and Dam and are so very grateful for the support the Ohio Valley Community Federal Credit Union and the public has provided to us over the past decade. We are now set to begin the CRESAP’s restoration and look at options for building a new visitor’s center on site that will house the boat and our museum’s collection. Our goal is to have the boat restored and new facility in place by the time of the CRESAP’s 100th anniversary in 2023,” said museum president Taylor Abbott.
During this period of transition, the museum will continue to operate the historical exhibits and visitor’s center at Hannibal Locks and Dam while its museum collection will be temporarily stored until the new facility is constructed. Tax deductible donations can be made to the organization through the Marietta Community Foundation in c/o of the Ohio Valley River Museum at P.O. Box 77, Marietta, OH 45750.
