Steamboat Wreck from 1870 Suddenly Resurfaces in Missouri River
A vessel that met its demise in 1870 is now visible again. It was a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River mover than 150 years ago, but it's reemerged from the waters it went down in.
The Missouri National Recreational River Facebook page shared the news of the North Alabama steamboat being visible once again in the Missouri River. It's not a supernatural ghost ship, but the result of the ongoing drought in the region.
This isn't the first time and likely won't be the last that the North Alabama steamboat has been visible. After sinking in 1870, it appeared above the water 34 years later in 1904.
The initial mission of the North Alabama was "to carry winter provisions to military posts" according to an article on the South Dakota Public Broadcasting website. It tragically hit a snag which led to its doom. The good news is that none of the crew were injured and there were no other passengers on board.
The National Park Service has kept its eye on the location where the North Alabama sank and shared some interesting backstories about its history a few years ago when it was still beneath the Missouri River waters.
It's an interesting slice of Missouri River history that doesn't appear often, but is likely to be visible for a while thanks to the drought. You never know what might suddenly make itself known out of the river.