The "Nettie Quill", one of the Alabama River's most noted sternwheelers, was built in 1886 in Wheeling, West Virginia, her hull and framing being completed at Freedom, Pennsylvania. Shortly after construction, the elegant steamer, of 299 tons, began regular runs from Mobile (her home port) to Selma. Her principal cargo was cotton and passengers.

Frequently, when the river was high, she made runs to the capital at Montgomery. Under captaincy of James F. Quill, the "Nettie" plied the river waters for over a quarter century, becoming so familiar a sight she earned the sobriquet, "Queen of the Alabama." In 1915, after one of the longest careers in Alabama River history, the Nettie Quill was sold by Captain Quill to a Monroe, Louisiana firm. Renamed the "Monroe", she was taken to the port of New Orleans, where during a violent storm she sank in the Mississippi River.

*This information was obtained from The Museum of the City of Mobile, courtesy of Mr. Caldwell Delaney.

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