Found A Buried Wagon In Missouri On A River Bend Need Help!

[GrizzlyFrost]

This is crazy, SO the other day I was kayaking the Missouri river and headed down a little side creek. When out of the corner of my eye i saw what looked to be a old wagon wheel with wood spokes. I decided to go closer and to my supersize it was! So with my wife and I both being on our day of we decided to go dig it up and metal detect around the area. Well after getting the wheel fully exposed we realized it was still attached to a axial so we freaked out. We decided to spend the next 4 hours digging 8 feet down and found the other wheel at the end of the axial which seems to be broken. The spokes are on it still but not the metal rim or the wooden rim.

Trying to dig further we found that its attached to what looks like where it would be drawn by horses. Here is the catch its upside down, we found some bits of old china and some glass bottles. After looking up the makers marks of the bottles and plates we come to the fact that they are from 1880-1930. Three of the glass items including the china are from WV but two are from local glass makers no longer around. Those two are St. Louis Glass Works 1821-1877 and Obear-Nestor Glass Company 1894-1978 From East Saint Louis.

Here is where we need help. We have no idea what to do at this point, we want this dug up and not to be taken hold of by the state and to be told to leave it alone. Ive Thought maybe call a local college to see if they will but I dont think they will care. This wagon has wooden axles and the wheels are roughly 54in with wooden spokes. I will attach photos, im sorry but at the point at which we dug down to the other wheel we were so covered in mud that we couldn't very well handle our phones for pictures.

Is there anyone from missouri willing to help us dig this up? After looking at wagons and types i think the one posted below is what we found.

 

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[USMC Reaper]

Damn, Brother that is outstanding!!

 

[AlienLifeForm]

Awesome find, you definitely have your work cut out for you unearthing that thing, but there could be some goodies around and underneath it. Kind of reminds me of playing Oregon Trail on the old Apple II, I was always breaking axles.

 

[KENTUCKYWONDER]

Most unusual find for sure, congratulations! My advice, get a shovel!

 

[vpnavy]

You might consider posting a request in the Sub-Forums: Missouri as well...

 

[boogeyman]

After your recovery, your next step should be to do a real good search up stream. If it was loaded and rolled over in the water and got swept down stream, it more than likely dumped everything upstream from where it rolled. Then start working down stream for any smalls. You've got a britches wetting find! And a lot of fun searching to go! Keep us updated!

 

[Obsessive]

What a great find! Congrats. I definitely admire your determination in unearthing that beast.

Just so happens I grew up in Missouri and worked on the river for a bit.

 

[Truth]

THAT'S AWESOME!!!!


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[ivan salis]

might have flipped off a river raft long ago

 

[BagLady]

That is an amazing find!! 54" wheels? That's a really big wheel for a standard wagon or buggy.
Should be interesting to see what it is. Who knows, maybe you found a cannon.
PLEASE keep us updated.

 

[jeff of pa]

Awesome Find ! & I agree Don't Trust Authorities.
there are at least 4 Types that will Get ya !

1. the Greedy one who Insists it must stay there for all to enjoy.
2. the other Greedy Type who insists an Archie must be involved to decide does it Stay. or Go in a Museum.
3. the Enviro Psychotic who decided the Magical river Frog only ever heard of when someone other then themselves
want something done, may have Babies in the Mud your digging.
and 4. the speculator who insists all must be studied and all permits must be paid in full along with
all dots and dashes filed in.
like a million dollar insurance policy on hand etc.

now.
not knowing the exact area or odds. these are just for fun and speculation.

Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.), 24 March 1911.

Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, March 24, 1911, Image 7 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

The St. Louis Republic. (St. Louis, Mo.), 19 Nov. 1905.

The St. Louis Republic. (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, November 19, 1905, PART III, Page 8, Image 28 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

The St. Louis Republic. (St. Louis, Mo.), 14 Feb. 1902.

The St. Louis Republic. (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, February 14, 1902, Page 12, Image 12 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress


Kansas City journal. (Kansas City, Mo.), 18 March 1898.

Kansas City journal. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, March 18, 1898, Page 6, Image 6 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

 

[kingskid1611]

Maybe they tried to cross the river in a rainy season and got washed downstream....I wouldn't get local authorities or state involved. Try it on your own and involve friends. Heck make a field day out of it for the family. Is it on public land or private? This is cool

 

[trapperart]

Heck of a find congrats

 

[smokeythecat]

That's a really neat find. Due to the iron wheels, it's probably 1880-1920 period. The glass also looks beginning of the 20th century. Of course, you could have Barbers, Seateds, etc. just waiting for you.

 

[kcm]

What a FABULOUS piece of history!!

I agree with the DIY approach. If you had another 4 to 6 healthy people, do you think it could be dug out by hand? If not, is there any way to get a small track hoe there without trespassing? Who owns the adjacent land?

 

[K. FLEMING]

Get a bigger shovel!!

 

[Puma]

Hate to be the wet blanket here, but I guess I'm wondering why bother? The wood of the wagon is preserved because it's buried in mud. Expose it to air and let it dry and it will just be compost. Unless you're prepared to do some $eriou$ pre$ervation work, you'll end up with a pile of rusty hardware and a story. And you'll discover that people who drove out-of-date wagons in the early 1900s didn't have a pot to pee in, much less a quarter to lose. There are good suggestions here for looking up- and downstream for anything that might have spilled. If someone abandoned the wagon they wouldn't have left anything of value. If it got washed away in a flood, it's contents would have been scattered. But I do wish you luck, whatever you decide to do, and keep us informed!

 

[jeff of pa]

Hate to be the wet blanket here, but I guess I'm wondering why bother? The wood of the wagon is preserved because it's buried in mud. Expose it to air and let it dry and it will just be compost. Unless you're prepared to do some $eriou$ pre$ervation work, you'll end up with a pile of rusty hardware and a story. And you'll discover that people who drove out-of-date wagons in the early 1900s didn't have a pot to pee in, much less a quarter to lose. There are good suggestions here for looking up- and downstream for anything that might have spilled. If someone abandoned the wagon they wouldn't have left anything of value. If it got washed away in a flood, it's contents would have been scattered. But I do wish you luck, whatever you decide to do, and keep us informed!

odds are it will warp and slowly fall apart over the years,
however if they take lots of pictures , it will continue to look good in them

 

[kcm]

You can protect the integrity of the remaining wood by using epoxy. Has been done for years in home restoration.
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-fix-rotted-wood-epoxy

Also, it might still be of historical significance if someone could build new components to replace the parts that are simply too far gone or are missing. For this to happen, the work would almost have to be done in cooperation with the local historical society or some such group.

 

[GrizzlyFrost]

UPDATE!

Ok so after talking with close friends and trusted advisers i decided to go early this morning and cut the wheel from the axle to keep the wagon from being fond by passer bys. Attached are some photos of the hole we dug to the other wheel and a video from this morning of pulling it up. I will say while removing the metal rim from the ground there where little pieces of china in the clay attached to it. The look to be the rims to tea cups or small bowls i will up loads those photos later after work. Also while pulling this out this morning i dug a little below the axle to find what i believe is a bolster so that would agree with our first thought of this wagon being upside down!