After the idea to borrow the Millersburg Ferry for Kipona weekend was decided unfeasible, the Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society was formed in 1985 with the blessing of Mayor Stephen R. Reed to build its own for the city.

Flanders Keller of Port Trevorton, a former coal dredger and shipbuilder was contracted to construct the ship to the designs of Joseph Phelen.

Interior doors on the Pride are restored from the RMS Queen Mary, a British ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic in the 20th century.

Propelled and steered by two 11- by 4-foot stern paddle wheels, it is one of only six remaining riverboats left with an authentic paddlewheel in the United States.

This floating classroom on the Pride of the Susquehanna features interactive education about the river, its history and ecology, conservation, and the environment.