The Steamboat Arabia

If you're ever in Kansas City, do yourself a favor and go see the Steamboat Arabia. In downtown, next to the quaint Farmer's Market and a stone's throw from the mighty Missouri River, there sits this awesome museum you've probably never heard of. The story goes this way. In 1853, the Steamboat Arabia left out of Kansas City heading north on the Missouri River. It was fully loaded with goods for homesteaders up the river. But within six miles of departure, the boat snagged a tree and sank. There were no casualties surprisingly, but all those goods went down with the boat and the mud of the Mighty MO sucked it up like quick sand. There the Arabia lay for well over a hundred years. In the 1980's, some average fellas from Kansas City decided to try and find the Arabia. The river had shifted over the years and the boat was found out in the middle of a corn field. The only catch was that it was 45 feet under ground and under an aquifer. If you take the tour, you get the full story and it's a great one. But the bottom line is that the Arabia was found with most all of the original goods still intact. And so the Arabia museum is full of literally TONS of goods, the thousands and thousands of items that were resting 45 feet below the surface in that Kansas corn field. It's like going back in time. Here are a few pics.