The latest leg in the journey of the Showboat Majestic finds it moored on the Ohio River in Maysville’s west end.
This historic showboat was purchased in February 2019 by Joe and Cortnee Brumley. The 150-foot long, 42-foot wide floating theater was built in 1923 and was anchored at Cincinnati’s riverfront beginning in the late 1960s.
Initial plans were to dock the boat in Manchester, Ohio, near Moyer’s Winery and for it to once again become a venue for theater and live performances.
But after Moyer’s was destroyed in a fire that same year, those plans changed and the boat’s owners began looking for a new place to dock the boat.
The Brumleys first approached Augusta City Council about possibly mooring the boat on the Ohio River along the city’s historic Riverside Drive but the city and its residents nixed the idea.
In late 2020, Joe Brumley, by then divorced, told officials he was the sole owner of the boat and initiated discussion with Maysville commissioners about the prospect of docking the boat at Limestone Landing, still as a show venue and tourist attraction.
At the time Brumley told commissioners he not only planned to move his boat to Maysville but also his real estate and development business and said he had signed a contract to purchase property on Second Street.
After extensive discussions concerning insurance, inspections and ownership, the city and Brumley came to an impasse.
By summer of 2021, the boat’s owner and the village of New Richmond, Ohio, had reached an agreement and the Showboat Majestic had seemingly found its new home. The village gave Brumley a 10-year license for $1, believing he would transform the boat into an entertainment venue.
In exchange for Brumley bringing the board to New Richmond, the city agreed to add utility services including electric, sewer and water at the mooring site.
But that agreement also soured after officials questioned Brumley’s intentions. In June, city officials gave him 90 days to move the vessel.
A letter from the city’s attorney to the boat’s owner was issued on June 28 to evict the craft. The boat had been at the city’s waterfront since February 2021.
According to the Waterways Journal Weekly, a letter from the solicitor indicated the reasons for revoking the license included environmental concerns with equipment being submerged in the water causing oil to seep into the waterways as well as no records of required insurance.
The boat is now moored along the Ohio River in an area along Maysville’s west end. It is near an area notorious for sunken boats, including the once-famous Clare Beatty of Beatty’s Navy, a barge and two old Navy minesweepers. Nearby property is owned by Johnny Paul Bivens who could not be reached for comment.
Contact information for Brumley was not available either.
Maysville City Manager said the city has no control over the river although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does. A Corps spokesperson told city officials that the site where the boat is moored is not an approved docking site.
Someone told a city official that the boat is on its way to Vicksburg, Miss. And that is good with Wallingford.
“It is now in the Corps hands. We have no plans, no desire to have that docked here,” he said.
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