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Experiences

St. Johns Rivership Co Unique River Cruise Experience Under New Ownership

Over the last few years, Historic Downtown Sanford has become a recognized and preeminent destination within Central Florida for its events & experiences. From large scale neighborhood-infused music festivals to outlandishly fun sofa races, from golf cart & e-bike rentals along the Sanford Riverwalk to enjoying a craft brewery or food tour, from taking in award-winning shows and plays to browsing at art festivals, there is an overwhelming array of things to do in Historic Downtown Sanford.

Among the plethora of options, one of Sanford’s most classic and unique experiences, the St. Johns Rivership Co. and its flagship vessel the Barbara Lee, has taken tens of thousands of guests up the St. Johns River in their turn-of-the-century style paddleboat. In September of 2023, the Wyatt family purchased the business, and under their ownership, patrons can look forward to a revitalized and refreshed version of this authentic ‘Old Florida’ delight, along with first-class food, drink, and fun!

Meeting with new owner Michelle Wyatt on the Barbara Lee, I was quickly impressed by both the scope and speed of the upgrades and enhancements already in place, and the vision of what’s to come. Acquiring the St. Johns Rivership Co. on September 7, 2023, the Wyatts are now the third family to operate a dining experience aboard a Rivership from the Historic Downtown Sanford Marina since 1982. The Wyatt family successfully ran a software business for 22 years in Maryland, with a focus on event management and mobile app solutions. Michelle’s extensive experience in business development, her strategic vision, and focus on providing an elite guest experience to each guest already has the St. Johns Rivership Co. pointed in the right direction.

Wyatt appreciates that what her family bought is more than just a boat, and more than just a restaurant. The Barbara Lee is the only authentic sternwheeler sailing the St. Johns River, measuring 105 feet from stem to stern, and capable of having 194 guests lounge within its five stories and myriad decks, making it the perfect space to host events of varying sizes. Built in 1986 and extensively refurbished in 2012, the ship is a replica of the traditional stern wheel style boats that ran on the St. Johns River back during the mid to late 1800s, featuring ornate wrought iron railings and massive wooden paddle wheels. While cutting a path across Lake Monroe in Sanford, the Barbara Lee looks all at once part something out of a Mark Twain novel and 100% a good time. “We bought an experience,” said Wyatt. “We’re excited to give this great experience its next chapter.”

The Wyatts have wasted no time implementing many positive changes, including online ticket sales, equipping the Barbara Lee with WiFi capabilities, and enhancing the audio-visual capabilities on board. “Where I can immediately help this business is with the guest experience,” says Michelle. “This vessel and this business is a dining experience that has become a part of people’s lives.”

Wyatt’s passion for hospitality and appreciation for providing exceptional experiences to customers has now been directed towards this historic and historically relevant attraction housed in the Downtown Sanford Marina. Plans are unfolding over the next few months to refurbish the interior, including carpets and lighting, along with planned upgraded and modernization to the building located on Marina Island that serves as the St. Johns Rivership Co.’s ticket office. Additionally, “cross-generational” activities to attract and engage a younger generation such as “Pirates and Mermaids” and “Sailing with Santa” events are part of the vision, along with monthly drink specials and other exciting events.

Back to the “experience” you are getting when you set sail up the river on the Barbara Lee, the St. Johns Rivership Co. is a premier river cruise operator that showcases the stunning beauty and rich history of the St. Johns River region. This is a one-of-a-kind dining experience that combined food, drink, relaxation and picturesque waterfront locations. As the Marina Island Master Plan set forth by the City of Sanford comes into fruition, with the proposed bar, restaurant, and café overlooking the water and the fully refreshed and reorganized marina, Wyatt aims to have the St. Johns Rivership Co. anchored right amidst the action, adding to the amazing things there are to do in Historic Downtown Sanford.

Downtown Sanford Marina 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford FL 32771 (321) 441-3030 www.stjohnsrivershipco.com

Daniel R. Lewis

Daniel R. Lewis is an Attorney, Realtor, and entrepreneur who is one of Sanford’s most prominent business leaders. Attorney Lewis has served on the board of directors for the Sanford Chamber of Commerce, as a Commissioner on the City of Sanford Planning and Zoning board, runs a large non-profit entity, and has otherwise been involved in countless large-scale growth projects in Sanford, Florida. He is a two-tour United States Air Force veteran who served his nation in time of war, is heavily involved in a variety of local civic, community, and charitable functions, and owns the most recognized legal practice in Sanford.

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Guided Boat Trips/Eco Tours

St. johns rivership co..

Explore Florida's St. Johns River and the wildlife therein while enjoying a curated meal and live entertainment on board St. Johns Rivership Co.

Explore the St. Johns River and the wildlife therein while enjoying a curated meal and live entertainment. St. Johns Rivership Co. is family-owned and operated in Sanford, FL. Board the Barbara-Lee in historic downtown to enjoy an eco tour that includes a chef-created entrée and on-board entertainment.

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Home » Orlando Attractions » Distraction Attractions » St Johns Rivership Co.

St Johns Rivership Co.

• Location: 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford, Florida 32771
• Phone: (321) 441-3030
• Website: http://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

Things to do at St Johns Rivership Co.

Here's a totally different way to experience Florida,  its wildlife, its beauty, and its warmth. All while enjoying the very best in chef-prepared cuisine, live entertainment and endless hospitality in climate-controlled comfort. Family-owned and operated, the St. Johns Rivership Co. is the latest in a long line of sternwheelers that have been serving and sailing the St. Johns River for centuries. 

Did You Know?

Interesting & useful facts

Measuring 105 feet from stem to stern, the ship was built in 1986.

All enclosed decks are climate controlled by air conditioning and heating.

All narrated cruises include your choice of chef-prepared entrée, live entertainment, and endless hospitality.

Photos of St Johns Rivership Co.

News About St Johns Rivership Co.

5 Things to Know About Sea Turtle Season on the Space Coast

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All Aboard St Johns Rivership

Glancing out across Lake Monroe from the marina in historic Sanford you might be fooled into thinking you'd gone back in time 100 years. Making its way…

The Barbara-Lee

Welcome to the Rivership Barbara-Lee. The only authentic sternwheeler sailing the St. Johns River. Measuring 105 feet from stem to stern, the ship was built in 1986 and was extensively refurbished prior to its inaugural St. Johns cruise in 2012. Featuring ornate wrought iron railings and massive wooden paddle wheels, the five-story rivership accommodates up to 194 guests, making it ideally suited to host events of varying sizes. Plus, all enclosed decks are climate controlled by air conditioning and heating.

Grand Salon Deck

Seats 94 and features an elevated Main Stage, dance floor and well-stocked bar

Mezzanine Deck

Seats 40 and offers views of the paddlewheel and Main Stage

Lookout Deck

Seats 60 and features its own dance floor with a “lookout” through to the Main Stage.

Paddlewheel Deck

A covered open-air deck overlooking the wheels allows you to stay out of the sun while enjoying unobstructed views of the river and its wildlife.

Captain’s Deck

The topmost, open-air deck featuring benches and the captain’s steering cabin

Sip perfectly Poured Cocktails As You Stroll The Decks.

The Barbara-Lee features a well-stocked bar and a professional bartender ready to serve a glass of wine, beer or one of our Signature Cocktails. BEVERAGE MENU

Cruises & Fares

The Barbara-Lee departs from Historic Downtown Sanford almost daily. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO CRUISE.

All narrated cruises include your choice of chef-prepared entrée, live entertainment, and endless hospitality, as well as a well-stocked bar. Lunch cruises depart the dock in downtown Sanford Wednesday through Sunday with dinner cruises available on Saturday nights.

River Visit Luncheon Cruise – Wednesday 11am to 2pm River Escape Lunch Cruise – Thursday 11am to 3pm Saturday Luncheon Cruise – Saturday 11am to 2pm Dinner Dance Cruise  – Saturday Evenings 7:30pm to 10:30pm Sunday Luncheon Cruise – Sunday 11am to 2pm

*PLEASE NOTE BOARDING BEGINS 30 MINUTES BEFORE DEPARTURE

THE BARBARA-LEE MENU

Once you’ve been seated, you’re able to select your entrée from The Barbara-Lee Menu. Should you have questions, helpful staff are on hand to answer them. Upon selection of your meal, you simply give your menu slip to your server. Then, just sit back and relax or take a stroll about the ship.

Entrées are chef-prepared to your liking and served with side salad, freshly baked rolls, chef’s choice vegetables and dessert.

USDA choice cut prime rib prepared to your specifications. Served alongside buttery mashed potatoes.

Tropical Chicken

Slow-roasted chicken breast with Parmesan and a savory mango-pineapple chutney atop rice.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken breast prepared in a Marsala sauce reduction with mushrooms and Parmesan and served alongside buttery mashed potatoes.

Chicken Parmesan

Grilled chicken breast with Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce alongside pasta and a side of chef’s choice vegetables.

Salmon Fillet

Thick-cut salmon prepared with your choice of Lemon Butter Sauce or Teriyaki Glaze atop rice.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Layers of slow-roasted vegetables, pasta, marinara sauce and three kinds of cheese. Crisp romaine lettuce tossed in our signature Caesar dressing, with homemade croutons and Parmesan topped with your choice of grilled Chicken Breast or Salmon Fillet.

St Johns Rivership Shuttle

COURTESY SHUTTLE

For your comfort and convenience, a Courtesy Shuttle is available for groups of 8 to 14 guests. Shuttle availability varies. Prior booking required. Must have same pickup and drop-off location. Maximum 40-mile distance.

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Florida on a Tankful: Taking a Riverboat Cruise on the St. Johns River

SANFORD, Fla. — The historic St. Johns River is an iconic spot in Sanford where you can take in the views from many different vantage points, but on the water is where you'll find the most relaxing adventure. 

What You Need To Know

Explore st. johns river while learning its history the riverboat cruise also offers meals learn more about the st. johns rivership co..

You can cruise the river in style aboard the St. Johns Rivership Co.’s classic riverboat. 

“We hope this means as much to Sanford as us. At one point there were about 150 paddlewheel boats that ran the St. Johns back in the 1800s, so it's just the perfect boat for the river and the history of the area," said co-owner Bill Maloney. 

This historic paddlewheel boat has been in Maloney's family. Since the ‘80s, his parents started up the business and he and his siblings carry on the dream. 

Aboard these three-hour cruises, you'll see all the sights while enjoying plenty of entertainment from live music to guided narration and history on the river to a delicious three-course meal... 

It's a perfect way to get better acquainted with the beauty of Sanford all while spending the afternoon on a little slice of history

Reservations are required for all tours. The company offers lunch and sunset dinner cruises.

LATEST NEWS

St. Johns Rivership Company and the Barbara-Lee

Introduction.

Text-to-speech Audio

The Barbara-Lee docked at Monroe Harbour Marina

a full view of the Barbara-Lee from Lake Monroe

The Barbara-Lee

A view of the Barbara-Lee from an old dock

Food on the Barbara-Lee

Musical entertainment on the Barbara-Lee

A nice famliy eating on the Barbara-Lee

Bow of the Barbara-Lee

Barbara-Lee viewed from a passing boat

Backstory and Context

The Sanford River Ship Company is a corporation that offers lunch and dinner cruises on the St. Johns River. It is located at 433 N. Palmetto Ave, Sanford, FL 32771. Their ship is named the Barbara-Lee and it's named after the owners’ deceased beloved mother (Kellam). The cruise starts from the marina and continues around an island nicknamed Chicken Island by locals. This takes about 3 hours and gives you enough time to eat, enjoy the onboard entertainment and look around at the natural beauty that is the St. Johns River. Barbara-Lee is an old remodeled steam-powered stern-wheeler form the gulf coast and was made in 1986 and refurbished to a dinning cruise ship in 2012 (Stjohnsrivershipco). This five-story boat has massive wooden paddle wheels, is colored red and white, has lights on it during the Christmas season, can accommodate up to 194 guests, making it a fantastic venue to host a small to medium sized event. The 2 paddle wheels at the stern operate independently which makes steering of the ship easy for experienced helmsmen. The decks are called the Grand Salon Deck, Mezzanine Deck, Lookout Deck, Paddle Wheel Deck, and the Captain’s Deck (Stjohnsrivershipco ). The Barbara-Lee follows other St. Johns River boats named Grand Romance and the Rivership Romance. Barbara-Lee is owned by a family named Sternberg. The father is Bill; the mother was Barbara. Their son is John and there are two sisters. They are from Traves, Michigan and they used to own a restaurant called The Bean Pot (Kellam). Bill Maloney, the original owner, used to own the Rivership Romance that was docked at Monroe Harbour Marina. The old company failed when Rivership Romance had maintenance issues with its hull (Clarke).

Before hundreds of miles of highways crossed the state of Florida, even before railroads took over the nation, steamships were used in Florida for travel, transportation, and trade (Robison). Steamships were faster than sailboats and could travel longer distances. Historian Arthur E. Francke Jr. wrote that steamships were a vital part of the Second Seminole War. Camp Monroe was the southernmost point for steamships to transport troops and supplies as the Seminole War was going on. The camp was later renamed to Fort Mellon, the name honored Captain Charles Mellon who was killed by Seminoles during the war (Robison). Nine named steamships alongside thirty other unnamed steamships served Fort Mellon in 1837. The steamships were chartered by the army during the Second Seminole War. This was the first extensive use of steamships in warfare, according to Francke (Robison). They were also used to trade goods from Tampa Bay to Cuba and the Caribbean. Flagler in the 1890s built hotels along the Biscayne Bay and used steamships to carry passengers to the different hotels (Gannon). Steamships contributed to the Florida economy by attracting rich northerners to come and enjoy nice, warm Florida weather so they could get away from the cold (SJRWMD). By 1885 cities along the river grew as the local economy flourished (St. Johns Riverkeeper).

The St. Johns River which runs in a northernly direction, interestingly, was discovered in the early 1500s by Spanish seamen. After warfare over the years with the French, the Spanish named the river Rio de San Juan which means St. Johns River (SJRWMD). The name has stuck and many people live along the river, traverse the river for pleasure and of course the Barbara-Lee travels along it daily twice a day. Since 1890 many changes have occurred to the local economy transitioning businesses away from just using the river as a source to transport goods such as lumber and citrus. The Barbara-Lee contributes to the local Sanford economy since guests spend money in beautiful Sanford.The river has such an interesting history that in 1998 it was designated an American Heritage River by President Clinton. The St. Johns is the only river in Florida and one of only 14 rivers in the entire United States to receive this prestigious national recognition (St. Johns Riverkeeper).

The Barbara-Lee is a beautiful experience on the St. Johns River with delicious home-made food and known for their sticky buns. Seeing its huge paddles move the rivership as you have lunch or dinner on the St. Johns River is amazing. The age of the paddle boat is passed, however, the company is popular and many people from all over Florida and elsewhere book trips aboard it (Kellam). Besides their own website, many people learn about this experience via word of mouth. The Orlando Sentinel also featured this interesting boat cruise available on the St. Johns River out of Sanford, Florida.

Clarke, Sara K. “Sanford Gets New Riverboat for St. Johns Dinner Cruises.” Orlandosentinel.com , Orlando Sentinel, 10 Oct. 2012, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-sanford-new-riverboat-cruise-20121010-story.html

"Historical Facts about the St. Johns River.” SJRWMD , St. Johns Water Management, https://www.sjrwmd.com/waterways/st-johns-river/facts

 “History.” St. Johns Riverkeeper , St. Johns Riverkeeper, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/about-us/our-river/history/.

The History of Florida , edited by Michael Gannon, University Press of Florida, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/scc-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5399402.

Kellam, Dolores. Personal Interview. 8 Oct. 2019

Robison, Jim. Seminole Countys Centennial: Celebrating a Century of Success . The Donning Company Publishers, 2013.

“St. Johns Rivership Co.: Home.” Stjohnsrivershipco , St. Johns Rivership Co., 2016, https://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

Courtesy of Cynthia Haller

https://www.historicdowntownsanford.com/visit-historic-downtown-sanford-florida/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYc1XU92Xh8

https://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

Additional Information

• A short and informative video about the Rivership
• The website of the St. Johns Rivesrhip Co.

• 321.441.3030
• [email protected]
• 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford, Florida 32771

St. Johns Rivership Co.

THE BARBARA-LEE MENU

LUNCH AND DINNER

Tropical chicken, chicken marsala, chicken parmesan, salmon fillet, meatless spaghetti meatballs, entrée caesar salad, first mates meal.

SIGNATURE COCKTAILS

World famous bloody mary, paddle wheel, captain’s punch, blue mermaid, st. johns sunrise.

Bud | Bud Light

Miller lite, michelob ultra.

— HOUSE WINES —

Chardonnay / merlot / cabernet, white zinfandel, — white wines —, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, — red wines —.

Mionetto Prosecco

Non-alcoholic.