Leavenworth Skiffs

Leavenworth Skiffs. . This town of Leavenworth was mainly known for two things, skiffs and buttons. In 1814, Zebulon Leavenworth laid out the town here because of the large fresh water spring at the base of the hill., Two years later, Daniel Lyon had set up a boat building industry, first constructing flatboats, and then specializing in wooden rowing skiffs. Later there were three successful skiff companies in the Leavenworth area: D. Allen Company, the Starr Skiff Works, and the D. Lyon Skiff Company., D. Lyon's skiffs were known for their quality, from Pittsburgh to the Gulf of Mexico. They were used extensively by the Corps of Engineers in their dam operations., The Lyon's family company thrived until the 1937 flood. Aluminum and fiberglass made wooden boats virtually obsolete by the 1950s., Captions (clockwise from top right) , . Model of D. Lyon Skiff Company's 16 foot Ferryman's skiff. The company had a small model of each of their eight lines of skiffs, yawls, and fishers. , . Postcard sent out when your boat was finished and ready to ship. Drawing is of a steamboat skiff or lifeboat. , . D. Lyon Skiff Company Leavenworth source: English State Bank Calendar , . Lenore Lyon (Ray Lyon's only child) taking a finished skiff down to the barge with a horse-drawn sled (right) and a barge full of skiffs headed down the Ohio River (below). , . Skiff builders Wallace Lyon, Ray Lyon, Jess Melton and Nort Whitcomb who ran the sawmill (Ca. 1910) , . Leavenworth citizens in D. Lyon skiffs above and below. , . Old postcard showing shops of the Daniel Lyon Skiff Company. Shows workers and boats under construction.