John McLure Jr. 1816-1893

 

John McLure Jr. was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1816.  His family moved to Wheeling when he was 4 months old.  His father, Andrew, was an important Wheeling manufacturer of the era. At the age of 17, John Jr. apprenticed as a steam engine builder under A.M. Phillips, Sr. at his foundry at 321 Main Street. It was here that he developed an interest in river navigation.  In 1845, McLure entered into another partnership, this time with master ship carpenter, William H. Dunlevy.  They opened a boatyard on the North Wheeling riverbank and produced the first sidewheeler that was supplied with a steam whistle on the Upper Mississippi-Ohio River system. 

 

McLure would also partner with William List to form the well-known “Union Line” in 1853.  This line consisted of seven steamboats that would run between Louisville and Wheeling and served the B&O Railroad. 

 

During the early rumbles of the Civil War, Capt. McLure and his boat the Eunice were entered into U.S. Service as a troop transport. He continued in this service throughout the Civil War. After this time, he enjoyed a reprieve from river enterprises. In 1873 he purchased the McLure House Hotel, which had been built and operated by his uncle, John McLure, Sr..  He continued to invest in real estate and became a stockholder in the Panhandle Railroad.  He was also instrumental as part of the group of Wheeling citizens to negotiate the return of the seat of government of West Virginia to Wheeling in 1875. 

 

Captain McLure died at age 77 on November 5, 1893 in his home on South Front Street.  He had owned or captained between 18-20 boats during his 40 years on the river.