Badger State (1844)
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Service History

"The Mancheaster was the first steamboat and the only one on Lake Winnebago previous to 1850. In that year she was rebuilt and named the Badger State and in 1853 she sank on the upper Wolf river." History Winnebago County. Wisconsin Its Cities, Towns, resources, People. Page 589

"The new boat, when completed, was called the Manchester. She was about seventy-five feet long and thirteen feet beam, with side wheels, one engine and one boiler of 20-horsepower, with cabin abaft the shaft on the main deck. James Worden, part owner,acted as mate and deck hand, and afterwards became one of the most popular steamboat captains on the Mississippi River; and Enoch Brooks, a well known engineer, and now a resident of Oshkosh, was engineer, fireman, and mad himself generally useful in any capacity occasion required. The Manchester was welcomed with joy by the settlers as a great and important achievement, and they were justly proud of this successful undertaking. The Indians were nearly paralyzed with fear. They thought the "fire canoe" an "evil-spirit" sent to destroy the fish in the waters of the lake.
The Manchester would have been a poor substitute for a steamboat at the present age of improvement. Her machinery was poor in comparison with the steam power of to-day, and many stories were told of this pioneer steam craft. One of the tales told was that of a passenger fell overboard and had to swim two miles before he could overtake the boat. She had a spar standing on her bow, and whenever the wind was fair a square sail would be hoisted to help the speed of the boat. It would take weeks sometime to make a trip around the lake. She was a fairweather boat, and her arrivals and departures were regulated by the weather. In the latter part of the summer she made a trip to Shawano and back with supplies.
She was the only steam craft on the lake up to 1850. In that year the Manchester was built over and called the Badger State. In 1853 this boat was wrecked on the upper Wolf river, and the W.A. Knapp was built from such parts as were saved from the wreck of the Badger State. In 1860 the W.A. Knapp was taken to the Mississippi river..." Wisconsin Magazine of History, volume 26 No. 1 September 1942.
Final Voyage

In 1853 the Badger State sank on the upper Wolf River. The W.A. Knapp was built from the parts of the Badger State wreck.
 
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