Bessie
McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The steamboat "Bessie", last of the Mifflin Kenedy-Richard King Rio Grande shipping fleet of the mid-1800s, carried this 400-pound bell instead of a whistle. After its final trip on the river in 1902, the bell "Bessie" was used until 1909 on John Closner's plantation east of Hidalgo. A dispute over its ownership delayed the purchase of "Bessie" by Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, and saved it when a fire destroyed (1924) the church. In 1926 it was placed in the rebuilt church. Cracked in 1937, and recast from original metal, the bell was later moved here to St. Joseph the Worker Church. (1975)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the mid-1800s, steamboats owned by shipping magnates Mifflin Kenedy and Richard King moved goods and people up and down the Rio Grande. The steamboat Bessie was the last of that fleet, and instead of a whistle she carried this 400-pound bell. After her final voyage in 1902 the bell served on a plantation, survived a church fire, was cracked and recast, and eventually found a home at St. Joseph the Worker Church in McAllen.
Why it matters
The Bessie's bell is a surviving relic of the Rio Grande steamboat trade, the commercial lifeline that tied the Texas–Mexico borderland together before the railroads arrived.
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Related people
- · Mifflin Kenedy
- · Richard King
- · John Closner
Themes & tags
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