Neat museum

[Tomahawk674]

Hey everyone, here's a link to a museum in Kansas City that you all would like, if you like history from the 1800s. It's called the Steamboat Arabia.

It's a steam boat that sunk in the missouri river, was swallowed by the mud, and was unearthed in 1980s. The mud preserved the cargo very well, including some powder flasks, pistols and rifles. Browse over to:

http://www.1856.com/

Then you can view museum info and watch a video, and then go over to "Arabia exhibit", then click "floorplan" and find the link to the "cargo gallery", and then #6 is a pic of some of the pistols.

I haven't quite been to the museum yet, but my wife has; we'll have to go sometime soon, and if you're near KC I'd suggest you go too.

 

[Acorn Mush]

A BIG +1 to what Tomahawk674 said!

My wife and I visited two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Beautiful museum, and the items are well presented. He is absolutely right about the state of preservation of the cargo.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Wow. That was neat. I wish they had close-ups of the flintlocks that were aboardship.

 

[Oyeboten]

Very interesting...would love to see it in person!


Amazing how well the things were preserved.

 

[Tomahawk674]

I found it interesting that they had a handful of percussion pistols, but not any revolvers. I guess the 1851 and its clones were too new/expensive to appear yet.

 

[Fingers McGee]

The Arabia museum is a good one. Have spent hours in it.

There is another museum in Iowa of the Steamboat Bertrand that sank in April 1865 in the DeSoto bend of the Missouri River, North of Omaha. The cargo was excavated in 1968-69, and is on displey in the DeSoto Nat'l Wildlife Refuge about 5 Miles west of Missouri Valley, Iowa. There were no firearms in the cargo; but there was coniderable amount of percussion caps, powder flasks, bullet molds, Maynard rifle ammunition and Mountain Howitzer shells.

Both museums are a wonderful look back on earlier times.

 

[robhof]

robhof

I think both Readers Digest and National Geo. did articles on the boat in Ks. I remember seeing pics in the Nat Geo and reaeding about it in the Digest, many years ago.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

Very interesting.

 

[Oyeboten]

I am sure Cargo would vary form trip to trip...and or according to who consigned what...or what may have been speculative.


I ended up watching a handfull of other 'Steamboat Arabia' Videos on google video, and saw a Sharps Rifle, and another Rifle which went by too fast for me to tell what it was.


Still amazed how well so many things held up...even Iron and Steel.

'Cotton' apparently did not hold up well, and, Boxes of Coton Shirts, allthat remained were the Buttons...and Cotton Thread in Woolens or Leather, the Cotton Thread was gone, even when the item itself otherwise remained in tact very well.

 

[MCgunner]

If and when I'm in that neighborhood in the future, I'll have to remember this. Sounds very interesting.

There is a very good collection of antique arms at Texas A&M University. It was donated by a former student. When I was a freshman there in 1971, it was on display in the old student center. I spent hours up there drooling on the display cases, was a favorite thing to do when I got home sick or just bored of studies. Then, with expansion of the student center and building of the Rudder tower to it in the mid 70s, the collection got packed and stored. I understand it's on display once again and I'd like to go check it out again. I have pics of some of the guns that a guy sent me. One of 'em is a very interesting Belgian 20 shot .32 caliiber percussion revolver. There is all sorts of European stuff in there that Pietta and ASM and Uberti doesn't make.

Here's the Belgian gun and a few guns on display. The collection took up a large room, all walls covered in glass cases and displays in the middle of the room. It's the most interesting collection and largest of such arms that I know of.

 

[DoubleDeuce 1]

I have been to the Arabia exibit also. It is a very worthwhile way to spend an afternoon. Tremendous exibit.