History, Historic House, Park, Specialized
Built in 1927 at Dubuque, Iowa by the U. S. Government, the S.S. Thorpe inaugurated barge service on the upper Mississippi . The first of four steamboats built for the revival of river transportation, it was the first to move barges from St. Louis north to St. Paul. It remained in service there until 1940, when it was sold to Armco Steel Corp. and put in service on the Ohio River. Armco renamed it the George M. Verity after their founder.