CITY OF HAWKINSVILLE
SUNKEN STEAMBOAT

By  Mike Miller June 6, 2025

The City of Hawkinsville is a submerged paddlewheel steamboat in the Suwannee River near Old Town, Florida.

It’s a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve, the state’s third. The 141-foot vessel lies 100 yards south of the Old Town railroad trestle.

Divers and history enthusiasts visit to explore this relic of Florida’s steamboat era. The wreck is free to visit year-round. 

City of Hawkinsville in better days.

Built in 1896 in Abbeville, Georgia, the City of Hawkinsville served the Hawkinsville Deepwater Boat Lines.

In 1900, Gulf Transportation Company bought it for Suwannee River trade. It carried lumber, cotton, and supplies from Branford to Cedar Key.

The steamboat helped build the Old Town railroad bridge, finished in the early 1900s. This bridge made steamboats obsolete.

On May 19, 1922, Captain M. Currie abandoned the vessel. It sank into the river’s shallow waters. In 1992, it became an Underwater Archaeological Preserve.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. 

City of Hawkinsville now.

The wreck is in the Suwannee River, Dixie County, near Old Town, FL, off US-98 at SE 349 Avenue. From I-75, take exit 404, follow US-27 west, then US-19/98 to Old Town.

The site is open 24/7, free of charge. Divers need advanced open water certification due to low visibility. Mooring buoys mark the site to prevent anchor damage.

Call the Suwannee River Water Management District at (800) 226-1066 for river levels; avoid diving above 4 feet at Wilcox Station. Laminated guides are at local dive shops.

Visit Fanning Springs State Park nearby for more river access. Avoid diving during high water or if visibility is under 3 feet. 

• The steamboat’s hull is intact, resting on limestone boulders.  

• Its port side is 3 feet below the surface; starboard is 20 feet.  

• The paddlewheel’s iron sprockets and wooden spokes are still visible.  

• A bronze plaque in the boiler room marks the preserve.  

• The steamboat carried materials for the railroad bridge that ended its era.  

• Local lore falsely claims it was a Civil War gunboat.  

• Mudfish and catfish now live inside the wreck’s hatches.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARTICLE ON THE
CITY OF HAWKINSVILLE