Missouri Steamboat Museum is a Time Capsule

The golden era of riverboat travel was in the 1800’s along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Two waterways that connected the Gateway to the west to the northern, southern and western parts of the United States.

Before rail was connected across the continent, before air travel, or road trips with family and friends, the mode of travel to take was via steam powered paddle boat. In addition to people, goods and supplies were shipped up and down those main waterways.

One ship – the Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City in the Missouri river in 1856. The contents stayed at the bottom of the river until 1988.

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Those items were recovered and have been on display at the Steamboat Arabia Museum in Kansas City. What was being shipped across the country in the mid 1800’s? There were more than 200 tons of goods onboard headed west. This was pre-Civil War America.

Steamboat - Arabia Museum

The team has been working on cleaning up all that was recovered, but it takes a while to preserve 200 tons of stuff. Meaning that the museum displays aren’t static. As more things are cleaned and prepared, the items featured has changed over the years.