Innovation

At 120 feet by 23 feet, the North Star was slightly longer than the Minnesota; at 60 tons, she was less than half the weight. The real innovation in the North Star came in the hull. Its design let her run in shallower depths; shafts and other engine parts could be maintained while the boat was in the water. With her engines running at 1,200 rpm, she could do 14 miles per hour.

Eight fuel tanks held 2,500 gallons of gasoline. She had twin rudders and seven watertight compartments in the hull. A Lipman refrigerating plant replaced the old ice chest, and a gas range drew fuel from Blau storage tanks. There was a water system for bathing, steam heat and two generators for electricity. A motor-driven capstan helped the crew raise the anchors; electric signal lights in the pilothouse were linked to the engine room. Two lifeboats, each capable of carrying 12 people, hung from the upper deck. She was the largest motor-driven houseboat on the Mississippi River.

Meanwhile, Dr. Will sold the Minnesota to the Corps of Engineers in 1922. Resold and renamed the Cotton Blossom (after the boat in the hit musical Showboat), she sank in St. Louis under what the newspapers called "mysterious circumstances" in 1978. The North Star could travel farther than the family's two steamers, which were restricted to inland waters. Her longest trip was in 1925; she went 7,500 miles through the Gulf of Mexico to Charleston, S.C., and along the Atlantic Coast of Florida. During her career, she survived a collision with another boat and a fire while she was docked at Wabasha, Minn.

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