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Title : Annie P.
The Annie P. was built by a ship contractor in Shreveport, La. for W. M. Porter and named for his wife, Annie. A former Denison resident, Walter C. Sanders, a veteran river pilot, joined Porter in going 40 miles below Shreveport and helping cut trees that were sawed and used in construction.
As work on
the hull was completed, the rains
came, the river rose, and the boat floated off its stand. It was towed
to Shreveport, where the superstructure was added.
The Annie P. docked north of Denison on Sunday, April 21, 1905, landing on the Texas side of the Red River after becoming the only steamship to make the trip up the Red River from Shreveport, Louisiana. The Sunday Gazetteer
Sunday, April 30, 1905 pg.4 THE ANNIE P. ARRIVES The Boat Reached Denison at Exactly 1:25 p.m. Monday. A Memorable Trip. After much trial and tribulation and one of the most memorable trips on record the Annie P. arrived at the prepared levee near what is known as Love's ferry. It was thought at one time that the boat would never reach Denison owing to snags and sand bars. It was a hard pull and a long pull but the boat was equal to the occasion and came through all right. The steamboat was loaded with freight. She had something like 6 tons of merchandise on board, consigned to the Denison Grocer Company and the Waples-Platter Company. At Shreveport, Lousiana 30 tons were loaded, but about half the amount was put off before Fulton was reached. At Tulip, Texas, representatives of the companies having cargo on board met the boat and sold some of the goods. All of the salt, which amounted to several tons, was p ut off at Tulip and at Pryor's Landing, which is a few miles above that place. The remainder of the cargo consisting of molasses, crackers, glass jars and meal was brought on to Denison. Captain Porter, who has guided the destinies of the Annie P. and Captain Tom White, the pilot, are enthuasiastic in the opinion that Red river with the snags removed and the channel cleared can be made a navigable stream. There is no question about it declared Captain Porter. The advent of this weather beaten storm tossed steamboat is one of the greatest events that has ever happened in the history of Denison. Denison is pretty well known, but the arrival of this boat which has been heralded far and wide will make it better known. We are standing on the eve of great events. The outlook was never brighter for a greater Denison than at present. If Denison has been sleeping upon her opportunities she is awakened at last. With water rates, will come other advantages to enhance our growth and prosperity. We are laying the foundation in s olid masonry for the erection of a great commercial metropolis. Our people have fought the good fight, and their efforts to convince the outside world that Red River is a navigable river has been realized at last. Now let us put our shoulders to the wheel and do things. Action, energetic, concentrated action must be our watchword.
People came from far and wide to see the steamboat. Town’s leaders came for speech making led by Dr. Alex Acheson and E. A. Thompson, publisher of The Denison Herald. Sunday, April 30, 1905 pg.4 George Hanna and wife, of Fort Worth, was here last S unday to see the Annie P. BIG CELETRATION The celebration in honor of the arrival of the Annie P. was a big success. The hills that look down on Red river were literall y alive with people. The crowd is estimated at several thousand. The Frisco made a record handling about 2,000 passengers without a single mishap. A great many people visited the Annie P. which was decorated with flags. The day was suffocating but that did not prevent the people from having a good time. The program was very w ell carried out. Congressman Randell and others made addresses.  The Sunday Gazetteer
Sunday, April 30, 1905 pg. 4 Last Monday Rev. Ashburn, who has a lease on the Munson pasture and conducts a dairy, wouldn't let the people who went to the river to see the Annie P. steamboat, pass through the gate which bars the road close to his residence without pay for the privilege. He demanded 25c for carriages and 10c of those on horseback. This act caused many determined protests but he was inexorable and the public had to shell out or go back. Ashburn finally decided to allow farmers to pass free, but he said town folk must pay. He is engaged in the dairy business and he disposes of his milk in Denison, this discrimination against those who patronize him is not calculated to make him friends or increase his business. To his credit be it said he threw the gate open Thursday for the picnic and made no charge. George Goodwin, the first editor of the Denison Daily Herald, and who had charge of the paper for several years, has this to say of the arrival of the Annie P. in his New York letter to the Denison Herald: "I have my ear to the ground, and hope soon to hear the whistle of the Annie P. Gallant old Col. Tom Crooks should be squat on her safety valve when at last she is run ag'in' the bank opposite Denison, for he was in my day the most persistent advocate and boomer of Red river navigation." What Mr. Goodwin says of Col. Tom Crooks is true. He was the first to advocate the subject of Red river navigation in the Herald and urge its importance. The Gazetteer is decidely in favor of changing the name of the steamboat to The Denison, as being the most appropriate. But if this does not meet with popular favor, then it sho uld be named The Tom Crooks, as a recognition of his pioneer work in behalf of Red river navigation.  Image cannot be copied or reproduced without permission of University of Wisconsin La Crosse https://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/ Dr.
Alex W.Achison was chairman of the river utilization committee of the
Denison Chamber of Commerce. In August 1920 he continued to
advance the idea of navigation of the Red River "partly because
advanced freight rates have increased the marketing cost of Grayson
County cotton crop.." The estimated increase of freight rates was
$69,800 for Grayson County and totaling $327, 867 for seven counties
along the upper Red River. (Laredo Weekly Times, Sunday, August 29, 1920, pg.7)
 Courtesy of Grayson county Frontier Village Sources : "The Annie P." by Donna Hunt, Herald Democrat, March 13, 2013
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