The Dixie is a steel-hulled, sternwheel-powered tour boat built by Captain Joseph Breeck and launched in 1929. Measuring 76 feet long, 17.5 feet wide, with a displacement of 35 tons and a draft of 14 to 22 inches, it served in its early years as a floating grocery store, blacksmith shop, and mail carrier for residents around the 585-acre Webster Lake. Since its launching, it has become a major tourist attraction in northern Indiana and a symbol of the community of North Webster. Its preservation and restoration is an ongoing project funded by donations and grants under the direction of the not-for-profit Dixie Sternwheeler, Inc. Ownership passed from Joe Breeck to Jay Knapp, Earl Ungeright, Ernest "Tag" Huffman, Walter Nellessen, Greg Van Pelt, Dan and Bo Thystrup, and then to Dixie Sternwheeler, Inc.