The Steamboat Arabia

[Bent_Twig]

Has anyone here ever been to this museum? What a great story. A look right into the lives of folks that lived in 1856. The link is a photo album of the museum and a brief story of the boat. The ammount of things salvaged from the wreck are amazing. The thing that caught my eye the most was the bottles of the era still sealed and full of content. What a great decision to make a museum out of all this for all to see.If you have never seen it check out this site , it is worthwile for sure.

http://www.pbase.com/hockingphotos/steamboat_arabia

Twig

 

[JOETHECROW]

That is truly interesting!,...Thanks for posting.

 

[woody]

I remember watching a show on tv about it. Very interesting and a beautiful display of glass with their contents.

 

[appliedlips]

They did a presentation on the dig at the National show in Wilmington,Ohio. Fascinating. The pictures on the website only represent a small fraction of the bottles found.

 

[sandchip]

Greg Hawley did a presentation at the Collinsville/St. Louis National a few years back, and that had to be one of the best things I've ever sat through. Their tenacity in not only finding the Arabia, but in excavating it, was astounding, especially to have been an entirely private venture. The book, TREASURE IN A CORNFIELD, is a great read that everybody should get if you don't have it. Greg was just as nice and humble as one could imagine, and it was saddening to hear that he passed away a couple of years back.

 

[cowseatmaize]

I read through that a while back, great read. Another good one is the Bertrand. The sha site has the pdf I think but you can pick up the paperback real cheap now. That's called the Bertrand Bottles, A study of 19th century glass and ceramic containers.

 

[appliedlips]

Your right Jim, I stand corrected. They were both local to me and attended both and got them mixed up.

ORIGINAL: sandchip

Greg Hawley did a presentation at the Collinsville/St. Louis National a few years back, and that had to be one of the best things I've ever sat through.  Their tenacity in not only finding the Arabia, but in excavating it, was astounding, especially to have been an entirely private venture.  The book, TREASURE IN A CORNFIELD, is a great read that everybody should get if you don't have it.  Greg was just as nice and humble as one could imagine, and it was saddening to hear that he passed away a couple of years back.

 

[sandchip]

Man, I wasn't trying to correct you; for all I knew he may have spoken in Ohio too. Just recalling where I saw him. Great bunch of pictures, too, BentTwig. Thanks for the link. Gives a better idea of the shear massive quantity of stuff they excavated. Still blows my feeble mind to look at the dig with all those 6" well pumps set to pull the groundwater out. That family gave a new meaning to the saying, "Go big, or go home!"

 

[Bent_Twig]

ORIGINAL: sandchip

Man, I wasn't trying to correct you; for all I knew he may have spoken in Ohio too. Just recalling where I saw him. Great bunch of pictures, too, BentTwig. Thanks for the link. Gives a better idea of the shear massive quantity of stuff they excavated. Still blows my feeble mind to look at the dig with all those 6" well pumps set to pull the groundwater out. That family gave a new meaning to the saying, "Go big, or go home!"

They really did go all out to get that boat back to the surface. I think it said something like 20 thousand gallons a minute to keep that hole open while they worked. How exciting would that have been to be a part of that. The pictures of the crew working was pretty awesome. The pictures and story of the mule was really cool too. Poor ole fella was the only casualty. I think Doug (Appliedlips) was only saying that you jogged his memory to where he saw the exhibit at. He lived here in Ohio and recently had to make a move to St Louis I believe. I miss his Ohio digging pictures and stories. He really used to do some nice digs here in the mid-Ohio area. Stories like the Arabia keep the dream of finding something really great alive for me. I would have loved to been a part of that excavation. What a thrill that had to be.

Twig.

 

[surfaceone]

Hey Kevin,

Thanks for posting this. What an amazing dig!

"Our hearts go out to the Hawley family, of the Steamboat Arabia Museum, after reading this morning's sad news that Greg Hawley was killed in a car wreck on Saturday.

Along with his father Bob and his brother Dave, Greg helped dig the steamboat's wreckage out of a cornfield north of the river, where the Missouri River once flowed before changing course. In the deep, muddy hole, they found tons of frontier-bound cargo, which they cleaned up and put on display at the museum. It tells an amazing story of how we got to Kansas City and points west. We think it's one of the coolest attractions in town.

Thank you, Greg Hawley, for making the city a better place. -- By C.J. Janovy " From.