"People say, Oh, I know where it's at, Backes said smiling. ", I didn't care about flying saucers or Bigfoot, he said. The oldest dugout ever found there is almost 7,000 years old. David Hawley is equal parts a steamboat historian and a treasure hunter. This page was last modified 07:42, 17 November 2021. At the tail end of 1988, the treasure hoard of the Arabia was finally unearthed, the team working in the freezing cold. This place is on the island of Malta in a body of water called "St. Paul's Bay," a tradition started by a priest in the 1500s but not supported in any way by historical evidence. The condition was so pristine they could easily read the stamp on the sole, Goodyear Rubber Company., The first artifact found, the shoe was lying on the main deck of the Arabia. The Bible, however, places the location of Paul's shipwreck in a different area than the traditional site. Closed one hour early onMemorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Halloween and New Year's Eve. The collection is so big that Hawley estimates it will take another 10 years to present it all. Hawley has big dreams for the Malta and for future steamboat finds. 6.6K views, 120 likes, 15 loves, 9 comments, 61 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Arabia Steamboat Museum: Discover the buried treasures of the American frontier in "Cornfield Shipwreck," a new,. Learn more about the full cast of Cornfield Shipwreck with news, photos, videos and more at TV Guide . 83816, Biblical Archaeology: Paul's 'Miracle at Malta', Astonishing Rediscovery: The Magdalen Papyrus. About midnight on the 14th day after the storm began, the sailors notice that the water is becoming less deep! Household matches are dry enough to light the cords of still fragrant tobacco, that could still be smoked in the dozens upon dozens of preserved, delicate clay pipes. He brought in a large drill and after going 37 feet underground, they hit something and pulled out the only core sample taken. >> THAT WAS 2016. You dont have to go into the ocean to find a shipwreck, says Kansas City explorer DavidHawley. The treasures contained within painting a vivid picture of western expansion and the treacherous frontier. A journey to locate sunken steamboats mystery cargo that vanished long ago., In 1988, Hawley and his crew uncoveredthe steamboat Great White Arabia, which sank in 1856 a few miles west of Kansas City. And Hawley has found some. The committed steamboat hunter grabbed his metal detector and GPS and started walking. Lost for 132 years, its recovery in 1988 was like finding the King Tuts Tomb of the Missouri River. PublishedJanuary 20, 2022 at 1:53 PM CST. The steamboat Malta sank in late August 1841 while loaded with Indian trading supplies for the American Fur Company. >> HIS BIG FIND IS THE ARABIA, THE CENTERPIECE OF THE STEAMBOAT MUSEUM IN KANSAS CITYS RIVER MARKET. CookiePolicy The vast engine boilers emerged, and the shape of the main deck gradually appeared from the earth. In the text about Malta, Silvestri relates - in his own way - the account naturally known by many, of the storm and the shipwreck, and the viper's incident. They decide to try to sail the boat right up onto the beach there. It all came out with what we were hoping for.. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. That may soon change. You wont find it on the first day and I didnt find it I dont think in the first year.. Hawley will use the measurements to re-map the boat's position when he is ready to dig it up this fall. Other locations for Paul's shipwreck on Malta have been suggested based on geographical analysis and the discovery of Roman anchors. The diesel-fueled generators and water pumps fell silent, and the remains of the giant side-wheeler Arabia were once again buried over, ready for that years crops to be sown. Its tagline is 200 tons of treasure., When designing the museum, inspiration was drawn from departments stores to see how the merchandise would have been displayed. Cornfield Shipwreck is currently available to stream in Italy. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Get Real: Defining Reality With Ashley Christine, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Paper Botanicals With Kate Croghan Alarcn, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, Secret Nun Cookies at Monasterio del Corpus Christi, How a Lone Researcher Faced Down Millions of Army Ants on the March in Ecuador. Jim Backes owns 1,500 acres along the bend in the river where the water used to flow. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the days most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. When the mighty Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, she carried 200 tons of mystery cargo. That led to The Arabia Steamboat Museum in the City Market in Kansas City, Missouri, and sent Hawley on a continuing quest to find five other steamboats from the hundreds that sank in the river. "Before I did this, my family ran a heating and air conditioning business.". His most significant is the Arabia, the centerpiece of the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas Citys River Market. Because of fear of smashing into some rocks in the dark, they drop their anchors. Rumors said it was filled with gold, or hundreds of barrels of Kentucky bourbon. In 1987 they started gathering clues from old newspaper reports and river maps that showed where the Missouri had once coursed. Over time, the Missouri River moved, and the area where the boat sank became part of the land, now covered by crops. We don't have any reviews for Cornfield Shipwreck. History Documentary hosted by Joi Shilling, published by Curiosity TV in 2019 - English narration [] Cover[] InformationCornfield Shipwreck Discovered by an unlikely team of amateur historians 45 feet beneath a Kansas cornfield, the Steamboat Arabia is one of the best-preserved shipwrecks in American history. Aboard the sidewheeled steamer was cargo for Peter Sarpy, Papin & Robidoux and other Chouteau trading posts and merchants along the Missouri River. But I wanted to know about steamboats.. According to Acts 27:39, the sailors on Paul's ship didn't recognize their location. It was like Christmas every day, Hawley says. THREE YEARS LATER, THE MALTA IS STILL UNDERGROUND. At some point, Fulmer said, if the decision is made to excavate the boat,the project will need a permit from the state . (Photo:Courtesy of the Arabia Steamboat Museum), As the cargo deck was gradually unearthed, so too was the remarkable scale of the find. I produce daily conversations to uplift and inspire the people of the Kansas City area to make the world a better place. (Photo: Luke Spencer). It wasnt tough to know where to start. You have permission to edit this article. That may soon change. Clay pipes survived the shipwreck, as did the tobacco to fill them. The treasures contained within painting a vivid picture of western expansion and the treacherous frontier. One such place was near Parkville, a few miles north east of Kansas City. Once on-site in Malta, our multiplied hours of research really began to pay off. Although usually celebrated with particular fervour in Valletta, it is a public holiday across the whole country, for this feast has for centuries held a special significance for the Maltese people. (816) 471-1856|steamboatmuseum@gmail.com, INTRODUCING THE NATIONAL STEAMBOAT MUSEUM. Before the advent of the railroads, steamboats pioneered the rapidly expanding Western frontier, carrying passengers and supplies along rivers such as the Mississippi and the Missouri. When the mighty Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, she carried 200 tons of mystery cargo. Most important, we want to continue documenting evidence of the Bible's reliability so that we can put into the hands of "everyday" Christians quality materials that will not only boost their confidence in the Bible, but provide them with tools for effectively leading others to Christ and building up Christians in their faith. Theyre buried in your own back yard., Hawley and his intrepid team have quite the incredible passion: discovering and excavating steamboats from the 19th century that may have sunk in the Missouri, but now lie beneath fields of farmers midwestern corn. That was followed up by core sampling to confirm the existence of recoverable items, and to allow us to evaluate the condition of what lies buried., Like the Arabia, the Malta is underground and not underwater. Spurred on by the potential impact such a discovery could have on the issue of the Bible's historical accuracy, we at BASE drew on as many experts as possible in analyzing all the weather patterns, maritime lore, sailing equipment and techniques, and details in Luke's account that could possibly lead us to the real wreck site of Paul's voyage - and, hopefully, to the massive lead anchor stocks I believed must be in the sea off one particular bay along the Maltese coast, just as Luke described it. $3 MILLION. Cornfield Shipwreck A white outline marks the spot where a buried treasure may soon surface. As the course of the river was altered decades later, the steamboat became preserved not under the muddy waters of the Missouri, but in a corn field. The treasures contained within painting a vivid picture of western expansion and the treacherous frontier. Some of the freight was destined to unload in Independence, Missouri, for passage along the Santa Fe Trail to Bents Fort in Colorados southeast corner. Sign up here to receive our free digital version of Personal Update. A 19th-century steamboat moored at a river bank. You wont find it on the first day and I didnt find it I dont think in the first year.After more than a year and around 300 miles of walking, Hawley had a strong hit. Second Sunken Steamboat Raises Questions For Kansas City's Arabia Museum, Steamboat Arabia Museum Charts Course Away From City Market, Toward Jefferson City, A guide to exploring Kansas City's French influences and history. April 2002 Personal Update News Journal. The Arabia produced a vast collection of preserved trade goods from 1856 that are on display at the Arabia Steamboat Museum. She was carrying over 220 tons of cargo destined to help equip 16 frontier towns, including St. Joseph, Missouri and Sioux City, Iowa. "That's as good of history as it gets, Hawley said. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. Drill bits sit in the back of a pickup truck waiting to be used to drill for the location of the Malta steamboaton Saturday. Discoveries in the Black Sea: Pre-Flood Artifacts? As I correlated all these facts, I realized that the four stern anchors of Paul's prisoner-laden cargo ship may well represent the best possibility in the world today of recovering an actual, physical object specifically mentioned in the pages of the Bible. The town of Malta Bend has waited centuries to find its namesake and is eager to know and see the treasures contained below the surface. (Photo: Courtesy of the Arabia Steamboat Museum). Everybody was really very pleased.. Hawley, along with his father, brother and two friends, unearthed over 200 tons of items, the equivalent of 10 container trucks. The National Steamboat Museum will be the pre-eminent historical and educational facility of our nation's long-lost steamboats and the stories they carried. (Photo:Courtesy of the Arabia Steamboat Museum). As an assistant producer on Up To Date, my goal is to amplify voices of people who serve as pioneers in their respective fields while shedding light on issues that affect underserved communities. He learned the dimensions of the boat 140 feet long by 22 feet wide measurements confirmed by the drilling on Saturday, are an exact match for the object under the field. Error! A popular Kansas City attraction for more than 25 years. The treasures contained within painting a vivid picture of western expansion and the treacherous frontier. Spots along the outline of "hits" are marked with red flags; misses are marked with white flags. Discovered by an unlikely team of amateur historians 45 feet beneath a Kansas cornfield, the Steamboat Arabia is one of the best-preserved shipwrecks in American history. This article was originally published in the A small team of men worked to find the outline of the ship, marking hits and misses to create a chalk outline. Receive top local news and columns every morning. MALTA BEND, Mo. Working night and day, and funding their project themselveseach member of the team put in $10,000, supplemented by loans from local banksthey dug through the frost of Kansas winter nights. Directors Shane Seley Genres This place is on the island of Malta in a body of water called "St. Paul's Bay," a tradition started by a priest in the 1500s but not supported in any way by historical evidence. >> THATS PRETTY EXCITING STUFF. 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