The old dredge on Miller's Creek is just sitting there rusting now

Vera Fisher · 2026-02-26T21:05:42.063495+00:00

I was driving by Miller's Creek yesterday and saw the old dredge just sitting there, all rusted up. It got me thinking about how we used to run that thing EVERY season to keep the channel clear for barges. Back in the 90s, we'd have a full crew out there, and the noise was something else, but it meant business was good. Now, with the new rules and bigger ships, they use a different spot downstream, and this old girl is forgotten. I miss the hands-on feel of those older machines, even if they were slower and noisier. Sometimes change means leaving pieces of the past behind, but it's a shame to see them fall apart.

mason_webb6mo ago

Talk about a fixer-upper, @jessefisher.

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jakeb626mo ago

That hot metal smell ever make you sick as a kid?

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jessefisher6mo ago

Man, does that ever bring back memories. Did you ever get to actually work on that thing when it was running? I mean, I was just a kid in the 90s, but my dad would sometimes take me down to watch it work, and the whole ground would shake. It had this smell of hot metal and river mud that just stuck with you. It's kind of sad to drive by now and just see it sitting there rotting, like a piece of the town's backbone just gave out.

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