Built in 1891 at Evansville, the sternwheel packet Royal quickly became one of the most familiar boats on the Ohio River, serving the busy Evansville-Henderson trade. Designed by noted riverboat architect C. G. Pearce and owned by Capt. C. G. Perkins and Capt. James B. Thompson, the Royal was admired for both her speed and efficiency. She regularly carried passengers, freight, and commerce between river towns, later extending her runs to Owensboro and Cannelton.
The Royal earned a reputation as an exceptional performer-once covering 20 downstream miles in just 49 minutes and making the Henderson-to-Evansville run in 52 minutes, a remarkable time for the era. Photographed passing beneath the Henderson Bridge, she symbolizes a moment when riverboats were the lifeline of local trade and travel. That chapter closed abruptly on January 12, 1896, when the Royal was destroyed by fire while tied up near Evansville, ending a short but memorable career that remains etched in Henderson’s river history.
