Sprague

Sprague may refer to:

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Sprague (towboat)

Sprague built at Dubuque, Iowa's Iowa Iron Works in 1901 by Captain Peter Sprague for the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company, was the world's largest steam powered sternwheeler towboat. She was nicknamed Big Mama, and was capable of pushing 56 coal barges at once. In 1907, Sprague set a world's all-time record for towing: 60 barges of coal, weighing 67,307 tons, covering an area of 6 ¹⁄₂ acres, and measuring 925 feet (282 m) by 312 feet (95 m). She was decommissioned as a towboat in 1948.

Legacy

After decommissioning, Sprague became a museum on the Vicksburg, Mississippi, waterfront. For many years the long-running melodrama Gold in the Hills was performed there.

The boat was wrecked and burned in Vicksburg on 15 April 1974, and pieces still remain in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

A model of Sprague is in the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa. The Friends of the Sprague organization sponsored a mural entitled The Big Mama of the Mississippi as one of the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals. It was dedicated on 23 March 2007.

Sprague, Connecticut

Sprague is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town was named after William Sprague, who laid out the industrial section. The population was 2,984 at the 2010 census. Sprague is composed of three villages: Baltic, Hanover, and Versailles.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.8 km²), of which 13.2 square miles (34.2 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), or 4.41%, is water.

Principal communities

The town hall is located in Baltic and was constructed in the 1950s.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,971 people, 1,111 households, and 797 families residing in the town. The population density was 224.8 people per square mile (86.8/km²). There were 1,164 housing units at an average density of 88.1 per square mile (34.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.42% White, 0.71% African American, 0.64% Native American, 1.35% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.