The J.M. White

The final J.M. White was, like the famous Rob't E. Lee and Natchez, a ship built to be glamorous.  No expense was spared and the new boat was to be the fastest on the Mississippi.  On September 15th, 1877, construction began at the Howard Shipyards in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
 
 

The Second J.M. White.

The new steamer was 325 feet long with an almost fifty foot beam.  Although it was not the largest or most expensive steamboat built, it was an impressive sight.  Captain John W. Tobin built the final J.M. White, using money from his success as the owner of sixty-three packets that carried cargo on the Mississippi.