Oxbow Steamer Wreck

[callicles]

Greetings:

I've been magnet fishing an old, abandoned oxbow where a steamship supposedly sunk in the 1850's. I have found quite a few hand forged nails, dowels, spikes, etc. that appear to be consistent with a steamboat.

On a recent trip I found the below item:

- it appears handforged (wrought iron);
- it is approximately 5 feet 8 and 1/4 inch in length.

Are there any experts that might be able to identify the item?

 

[callicles]

Sorry for the pics above. I can't figure out how to flip pictures. Here are more pictures:

 

[callicles]

More:

 

[longcut]

There will be items with the ship's name on it ...... Plates , spoons etc.......... until you find some of that kind of stuff , hard to know what you have ....... there are lots of small steamers sunk on smaller rivers , along with the big steamers sunk on bigger river..... As far as the long rod pictured , it could be a rod to part of the steam engine controls or just a brace for a smoke stack ... hard to figure out.............. keep at it !!!!!

 

[callicles]

Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah, I'm trying to learn more about the items. I'm hoping to visit a nautical museum soon so that I can at least get a basic understanding of antebellum steamers. I'm hoping they might have resources I can turn to for help. It's frustrating to find all this stuff and be utterly ignorant of the items.

Do you or anyone else know of books or websites dealing with old steamers that I might consult?

 

[1637]

keep going and you will have you own steamer.
good luck keep us posted brad

 

[enrada]

Have you researched local newspapers for any articles of the steamer at the time(year) it sank?

 

[callicles]

Have you researched local newspapers for any articles of the steamer at the time(year) it sank?

I wouldn't know where to start. The oxbow is on one of our deer camps. When I was a kid, the old caretaker who lived out there used to tell me the story about a steamship in there. He said that his grandfather could remember when the smoke stacks were visible above water. He would point in the water where it was supposed to be. He always said it was "before the war," so I just assumed 1850's or so. Well, fast forward 30 or so years later and I get a magnet. I decided to see if the story was true. I started slinging in the area he used to point out and I started finding this stuff.

As was was mentioned above, I probably would have to find a name of the ship on an item. Then, I might be able to research from there. However, I doubt the name is stamped on iron, and I ain't brave enough to swim with hungry looking alligators to recover non- ferrous items!

 

[hobbit]

I wouldn't know where to start. The oxbow is on one of our deer camps. When I was a kid, the old caretaker who lived out there used to tell me the story about a steamship in there. He said that his grandfather could remember when the smoke stacks were visible above water. He would point in the water where it was supposed to be. He always said it was "before the war," so I just assumed 1850's or so. Well, fast forward 30 or so years later and I get a magnet. I decided to see if the story was true. I started slinging in the area he used to point out and I started finding this stuff.

As was was mentioned above, I probably would have to find a name of the ship on an item. Then, I might be able to research from there. However, I doubt the name is stamped on iron, and I ain't brave enough to swim with hungry looking alligators to recover non- ferrous items!

Best of luck on what sounds like an interesting project.

I am not trying to sound like a hero, but the odds of a fully grown man being attacked by an alligator are virtually zero.

Get in the water and get the non-ferrous stuff!! You can always wait until it is cold and the gators go to sleep.

 

[MPH200]

Try the Library of Congress to search the location & possible years of the wreck.
Good luck.
This is just one example I use:

The Yazoo Democrat. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1858-18??, January 08, 1859, Image 2 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

 

[huntsman53]

There are a lot of possibilities of what the piece may be but without knowing the name of the Steamboat and having a schematic, any answers are conjecture. As longcut stated, it could be a part used for steam engine controls and my guess is that it is a type of control rod for the rudder. Maybe an expert on Steamboats will stop by and provide the answer.


Frank

 

[longcut]

callicles, by any chance are you in Mississippi ............... the smoke stack story sounds familiar to a boat I know about .....

 

[uglymailman]

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/treasures-of-the-steamboat-arabia
A Historic Kansas City Attraction &laquo The Arabia Steamboat Museum - A Historic Kansas City Attraction Arabia Steamboat Museum ? Kansas City
This might give you an idea of what the boat might have carried. Quite an interesting story. They found the ?Arabia quite a way's from the river so most of the cargo was intact, just buried. Good luck.