Here is one of those experiences where you never expected to see what you saw and were literally stunned, similar to visiting the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota (see previous post from March).
The steamship Arabia was a twin sidewheels vessel which hit a submerged walnut tree snag in the Missouri River in 1856 and sank near what is now Parkville, Missouri near Kansas City. It was rediscovered in 1988, and about 2/3 of its 200 tons of cargo are now on display at the Steamboat Arabia Museum at City Market in Kansas City. The rest of the cargo objects are in storage and are still being preserved by experts.
The 171 foot long and 30 foot wide steam vessel was built in 1853 and its boilers burned around 30 cords of wood per day.
In 1856, on a routine trip, the Arabia hit a snag and its hull was ripped open, rapidly filling with water. The upper decks remained above water (the river depth was 15 feet) and the only casualty was a mule that was tied to sawmill equipment and forgotten. The boat then sank so rapidly into the mud that by the next morning only the smokestacks and pilot house were visible, and after a few days all traces of the boat were carried away, Numerous salvaage attempts failed, and the boat was eventually covered by the 25 foot deep water table, plus over time, the course of the river shifted a mile to the east.
In 1987 Bob Hawley and his two sons, Greg and David, set out to find the boat, and using old maps and a proton magnetometer, discovered the Arabia a half mile from the river and under 45 feet of silt and topsoil. Twenty irrigation pumps were installed around the site to lower the water level and to keep the site from flooding. The 65 foot tunnels removed 20,000 gallons of water a minute and pumped it back into the Missouri River.
Four days after the boat was exposed, artifacts from the boat began to appear, including elegant china, jars of preserved food that is still edible, fine perfumes, bolts of cloth, thousands of boots and shoes, and a mule skeleton!
http://www.1856.com/ Steamboat Arabia Museum website
The next post will show photos of the excavation and photos of some of the thousands of objects on display, although these few photos don't begin to tell the story of what I saw today. Incredible. Amazing. Etc.
