Thursday, June 24, 2010

W Is For Wheel


It's Alphabet Thursday at Jenny Matlock's place, and it's time for the letter W.

W is for Wheel.
 Mr. Garden and my niece 

This enormous paddlewheel is from the Steamboat Arabia, which sank in the Missouri River one hundred and thirty-some years ago.  After it sank, the boat and it's cargo were covered by thick river mud.   As time passed,  the river changed it's course and the boat lay undiscovered  under farmland for years.
(this pic from the web)

 A few years ago 5 men and their families dug up the boat and opened a museum.   Included in the mud-preserved cargo were dishes, boots,  buttons, tools, farm implements, perfume and pickles.  The Treasures of the Steamboat Arabia museum is very much worth a visit if you ever pass through Kansas City.

(this pic from the web) 




(two of the pics in this post were borrowed from the web)

41 comments:

  1. What a wonderful post! I have always wanted to go on a treasure hunt! I guess the closest I will get is going to garage and estate sales!

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  2. What an interesting post! This is a perfect subject for the letter w. I enjoyed reading about the Arabia. ~ Sarah

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  3. What an interesting story of that boat and the paddlewheel.

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  4. that is very cool...hubster and i are on a road trip right now and in missouri...we might just add this little treasure to our journey. thanks!

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  5. Happy W day! That sounds like a really cool museum!

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  6. What an interesting museum. Bet that farmer got the shock of his life when he plowed this up! Great choice for W. Kathy

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  7. What an interesting story. Pretty amazing that all of that was buried for all those years.

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  8. I'm always fascinated by sunken boats & the treasures recovered~ Great W :-)

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  9. What a great museum. I tried to get your address from Etsy to post your gift, but my account is closed could you please email it to me Alexandramason1@aol.com :)
    Hope you are having a lovely week xxx

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  10. What a great post, and very interesting, Thanks for sharing.
    One never knows what lies beneath our earth. I so enjoyed this, thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Sue

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  11. What a treasure to uncover and such an undertaking. My grandson and I uncovered a few wheels yesterday too.
    The neighbor was cleaning out and discarding items his father had saved...a barn full of treasures.
    So interesting to be a part of it.
    BlessYourHeart...Kansas City, huh...

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  12. I have a two year old that would love to have joined them in the dig.

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  13. Oh, that's neat! My son would love that. He loves sunken ships.

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  14. That looks awesome....we would love to do something like that! Thanks for sharing your story...great W!

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  15. I have lived here all my life and have never been to the museum...gonna have to put it on the calendar! We don't make it over the the farmers market much! Great post!

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  16. I knew there was something else to add to my bucket list! thanks for the reminder.

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  17. I have lived here all my life and have never been to the museum. Even in school-no field trips there. One day I will get there.

    Melinda

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  18. That's the sort of museum I'd really like to visit - what a lot of work for those five families!

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  19. Oh, what a treasure! I love stories that make me think of hunting treasure and Clive Cussler all rolled into one!

    This is really fascinating!

    On our next road trip back to Ohio (we usually go to Kansas City for biz on the way) we will stop here for sure.

    You can meet us there and show us around!

    What a wonderful stop on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "W"!

    Thank you for sharing this.

    A+

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  20. I've been there!! It's been probably 17 years or so, but I remember it being VERY cool.

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  21. That was so interesting, thanks for sharing this! I would enjoy a treasure hunt.

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  22. Hello! I think I saw this on TV on the Discovery Channel or something like that...I didn't realize that it was in Kansas City though. I be my hubby would love to see that ...so would I for that matter. Thanks for stopping by my blog today and leaving a comment...it was good to 'see' you! You asked me a question but instead of answering you on my blog I figured I'd just come by and say hello...I'm glad I did. The log cabin we stayed in was near Jasper Arkansas...in the middle of no-where just the way we liked it. It was pure luxury as log cabins go..we had everything even internet if you wanted it which we didn't. I hope you're having a wonderful day...take care and thanks again for visiting. Maura :)

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  23. What an interesting post, fun story!

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  24. I have been to that museum twice and loved it both times. I am completely fascinated by everything that they uncovered during that dig. I can't believe all the small objects they uncovered and restored. I highly recommend the tour to anyone who comes to Kansas City.
    Great post.
    Jane

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  25. Really neat post. There is a shipwreck museum in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Hubs and I went there one summer and learned a lot about the Great Lakes Shipping wrecks.

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  26. Very interesting! I've enjoyed a good number of "dug up things" and keep hoping more will be discovered.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  27. that was totally fascinating! how cool!

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  28. We are indeed a mighty nation filled with historical monuments to our ingenuity. So nice to see something associated with a wheel, other than a car :)
    Great post to expand the letter W :)

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  29. Loved your W post. Would love to see that.

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  30. I'm from Kansas City and never knew this existed.I will have to take my sisters and visit it when I am home visiting. Debbie

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  31. Wonderful post...this is right up my alley...I would love to visit this museum sometime...I live in a river town, and riverboats were a huge part of our history...

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  32. What a great post. I bet it was so fun when they dug it up discovering all the things that were left. Good W post.

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  33. Wow..I can't imagine that everything were still intact after 150 years..What a treasure!

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  34. Wow! That is amazing. We drove through Kansas City last summer and I wish we had known about this then. What a fabulous museum. The pictures are amazing.

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  35. Wish I knew about it when we were in Kansas City - we love museums. Great post!

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  36. What an amazing and interesting story. How neat that they took the time to dig it up and share it all.
    Wonderful!

    Thankyou so much for passing by and commenting on my blog :-)

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  37. I love your Alphabet Thursday posts, Gayle. You don't just post a picture, but you share such interesting history. You and your family have such a rich history of your own from the way you've traveled and all.

    Thank you for all of the sweet comments you've left for me this past week when you've visited me. The girls left yesterday around noon. Ellen decided to go ahead and make half the trip yesterday, get a room for the night and then finish the rest of the trip today. They should be home by mid afternoon today. We surely did enjoy having them here with us.

    Rest is on the agenda for the next few days and then in a couple of weeks, our grandson will be here for a week.

    I'm so grateful for these opportunities to have time with out grandchildren.

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend, my sweet friend.

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  38. That is so interesting. I can imagine how interesting this museum would be. Can't imagine digging up a sunken boat under land. Amazing! laurie

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  39. the amount of mud they had to dig thru is just amazing! wow!

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  40. I love this! What a nice post. I like the big wheel.

    Thank you for visiting me!

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THANK YOU for your thoughtful comments. Replies to your questions will be posted here, so be sure to check back soon. Have a wonderful day! - Gayle, Garden Of Daisies