Archeologist Clarence Bloomfield Moore leased the steamer each year from 1891 to 1895 for his annual excursions to explore the St. Johns River and tributaries for Native American artifacts.

[2] In December 2008, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program led a search of the east side of Crescent Lake for the sunken wreckage of the Alligator.

The Ocklawaha River was a primary route of transportation in Central Florida during the years after the Civil War until railroads reached the area.

The boats were fitted with an inboard stern paddle wheel to aid in navigating the narrow, thickly treed, and weedy waterways.

A Certificate of Enrollment issued on 21 January 1890, when ownership of the steamboat was transferred to brothers Charles B. and Benjamen Wade shows a rebuild in 1889.

In 1888, Captain Howard added the Alligator to his small fleet of vessels that ran on the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers providing passenger and freight service.

[2] The Wade brothers bought Alligator on 9 September 1889, and a year later they sold it to Joseph Edward Lucas who owned the steamboat during most of the time of its operation.

The Alligator in the expanded form gave the company several steamers well-equipped to transport citrus fruit freight and passengers for winter tourist travel on the Silver Springs run.

[2] The Lucas Line's main source of income, the Metamora steamboat, sank in 1903 causing the company severe financial problems.

The vessel was rebuilt with a configuration suitable for local runs and back in operation again with a single owner, Dozier.