Arabia Steamboat Museum

  The Arabia sunk in the Missouri River in September of 1856 after a sunken tree punched a hole in the boat’s hull. All of the passengers made it to shore safely but the boat, along with 2,000 tons of cargo, settled deep into the muddy bottom of the river. 131 years later five men started on a treasure hunt  and discovered the boat buried under 45 feet of farmland, 1/2 mile from the present channel of the Missouri River.

  Two weeks of careful digging revealed the first boxes. As the men began pulling item after item from the boxes, finding most of them intact and in incredible condition, all thoughts of selling the pieces were forgotten and they began plans for a museum.
         
  We were amazed by the amount and variety of the cargo but the state of preservation is really impressive. The soft mud provided a cushion and blocked oxygen. Jars of pickles still green, thousands of  brightly colored trade beads, leather boots, woolen clothing, tools, pins, china dishes, door knobs and hinges, eyeglasses, peppercorns - everything that might be useful on the frontier had been packed into the ship’s hull to be delivered to towns along the river.

The museum is accessible. A ramp to the replica of the deck is a little steep but that area can also be accessed by backtracking and entering from the opposite end.

 The parking lot is large enough for RVs without a towed car. The website does not include directions. We exited from I-70 and, because of one way streets, drove around in circles a couple of times before we found the museum. The easiest route seems to be: exit 57 from I-435, west on East Front/River Front which curves south to become Grand Blvd. and leads right to the museum. We used this route when we left and found it much easier.  Museum
39.10955, -94.5809