The George M. Verity
This historic steam-powered towboat---one of America's famous sternwheelers---has a distinguished record, bearing the name of the founder of Armco Steel Corporation. She had 33 years of outstanding service on the Mississippi River. Built in 1927 at Dubuque, Iowa, she started barge line service between St. Louis and St. Paul, from 1940 until her retirement in 1960. She contributed substantially to the industrial life of this nation by transporting more than 10.000,000 tons of coal used in Armco's steel production. With great pride, Armco Steel Corporation presents this historic sternwheeler to the people of Keokuk, Iowa, for a permanent museum of river history, located on this beautiful bank of the father of waters. May this steamboat so enshrined serve as a constant reminder of the important contribution made by these early riverboats in the settlement and growth of Keokuk and the development of the great State of Iowa. June 2, 1962.