Paddlewheel Boat Donated to Buckeye Lake

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Ever since water levels were lowered at Buckeye Lake they have seen less and less visitors. With the addition of a new paddlewheel boat they hope to draw new visitors.

The 88-foot boat was pulled out of Muskingum River Tuesday and separated into three sections and placed on flatbed trucks to be transported to the lake. J-me Braig is the director for the Buckeye Lake Historical Society and said there was a paddleboat at Buckeye Lake from the 1950s till 1973, and that the donated boat will serve as a nice replacement.

“This will be a dinner cruise, public tours, and specials for corporations,” said Braig. “It’s a very good addition to Buckeye Lake.”

Reitred doctor Ron Downing donated the boat to Buckeye Lake. He built it in 1992 at a cost of $200,000. He and his wife took the boat out for one final voyage on Friday, taking the boat down the Muskingum River to McConnelsville.

Dr. Downing named the boat the ‘Elizabeth Anne,’ after his daughter. The boat will be renamed ‘Queen of the Lake III,’ in honor of the previous paddleboats at Buckeye Lake. Dr. Downing said that his inspiration for building the boat was very personal.

“I had stage four cancer in my neck and they thought I was going to die. That was about 25 years ago,” said Dr. Downing. “We’ll I didn’t die so I always wanted a boat, so I built one.”

Braig said she hopes the boat will be operational by the spring of 2018.