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Lynchburg Man Recalls Early Packet Boat Days
April 12, 1953
Boyhood memories of packet boat days on the James River were recalled yesterday, along with early recollections of Lynchburg, by W. E. Jordan, 81, of 304 Oakridge Blvd., who came from Richmond to Lynchburg aboard the historic Marshall in 1876.
Although but four years old at the time, he remembers the family’s journey, their immediate departure for nearby Long Island, and their return three years later to make their home on Daniel’s Hill, Lynchburg.
His father, J. W. Jordan, first was
a farm manager, and then became associated with the John P. Pettyjohn Construction Company and later with the Glamorgan Foundry.
Attained Fame
The Marshall already had attained fame when the family came to Lynchburg by way of the river and canal, and the memories of that trip probably were impressed by that fact and also by later associations with
the old boat, when it lay along the bank of James River. It was aboard the Marshall that the body of Stonewall Jackson was conveyed May 13, 1863, to Lexington for burial.
A remnant of the Marshall, suitably marked, has been mounted in Riverside Park, a metal piece rescued when the boat was all but gone. Reminiscences of Mr. Jordan had their origin in an article on Packet Boat Days published in The News of March 29, and sent in from Buena Vista.
References to the couple which occupied the old boat after it was left on the river bank and until it literally dropped to pieces reminded Mr. Jordan that they were white, and not Negro, and that they were a blind man and
his sister. This fact is known also to the reporter who interviewed Mr. Jordan.
Listing early impressions of Lynchburg, seen in the light of a small boy’s adventuring, Mr. Jordan, prefacing each item he recalled by “I remember...,” wondered how many
W. E. Jordan was 81 when he shared his memories with News and Advance re- porter Martha Rivers Adams in 1953.
By Martha Rivers Adams
Trudy and Jimmy Argenbright look at the front of their home in Reusens which is thought to be part of the packet boat Marshall. Two sections of the packet boat cabin are used for rooms in the house. The curved roof of the old boat can be seen under another roof built on top.
 LYNCH’S FERRY
The Marshall as it appeared for many years on the bank of the James River
Richard Mandeville photo courtesy of The News & Advance