The Tell City was constructed in 1889 by the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., for a contract price of $21,350. Named for the Ohio River town of Tell City, Ind., the wood-hulled vessel was 191 feet in length by 35 feet in width, with a depth of 5.2 feet. Three return-flue boilers provided steam for engines having 17-inch cylinders with a 7-foot stroke. The sternwheeler was built for the Louisville & Evansville Mail Line Company and originally had double swinging stages. Two round trips were made each week between the two cities, with connections being made at Louisville with the steamboats of the Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Company to Cincinnati. (https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/2020/07/17/a-recent-revelation-of-the-str-tell-city/)