The next morning they see a bay. 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. The first mystery is, of course, how a boat that sank mid-river ends up buried in a field. "These are national treasures, Hawley said. Everybody was really very pleased.. Buried treasure: Long lost Steamboat Malta found under Missouri farm land, TREASURE. Several years ago, he turned his eyes on the Malta, which sank in 1841 after hitting a tree in the river -- a common fate for boats back then. It could be the museum of the great American steamboat, Hawley said. (Photo:Courtesy of the Arabia Steamboat Museum), As the cargo deck was gradually unearthed, so too was the remarkable scale of the find. The treasures contained within painting a vivid picture of . During the latter half of the 19th century, the Corps of Engineers undertook projects to forcibly alter the shape of the Missouri River. . David Hawley is equal parts a steamboat historian and a treasure hunter. See. It's universal that people love a treasure hunting story, Hawley said. 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. Until then, the items waiting to be catalogued are preserved encased in ice blocks. The boat sank in 1841 near Malta Bend, Missouri. The search now is to find a place to put the boat and the treasure inside. >> THAT WAS 2016. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. A small team of men worked to find the outline of the ship, marking hits and misses to create a chalk outline. About midnight on the 14th day after the storm began, the sailors notice that the water is becoming less deep! "That's pretty exciting stuff, Hawley said. 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. (Photo: Luke Spencer). The artifacts are preserved and displayed at the Arabia Steamboat Museum, located in the historic City Market. Koinonia Institute is dedicated to training and equipping the serious Christian for ministry in todays world. You can reach me at. THE COST TO DIG IT UP? From clothing, fine china and carpentry tools to guns, dishes and childrens toys to the worlds oldest picklesthe collection captivates visitors of all ages. Bible study resources from Dr. Chuck Missler, on DVD, CD, audio and video download. Learning was done as we went along, says Hawley. Advertisement for the Arabias final voyage; steamboats were used to carry both passengers and cargo. It wasnt tough to know where to start. At KI, we delve into the relevance and reliability of Scripture, including prophetic insight both past and present. Over time, the Missouri River cut a new channel and moved, leaving the boat buried deep under what is now a Missouri farm field near Malta Bend, Missouri. [However, he says that St Paul healed . While the Arabia lies once again dormant in the cornfield, plans are already underway for the next excavation this winter: the steamboat Malta. Discoveries in the Black Sea: Pre-Flood Artifacts? Crates of cognac and champagne taste just as they did in 1856. Internet Service Terms CookiePolicy She was carrying over 220 tons of cargo destined to help equip 16 frontier towns, including St. Joseph, Missouri and Sioux City, Iowa. From left, Rod Morrow, David Luttrell and Justin Beaver prepare to drill to make the final measurements of the a steamboat on Saturdayin Malta Bend, Missouri. At some point, Fulmer said, if the decision is made to excavate the boat,the project will need a permit from the state . His most significant is the Arabia, the centerpiece of the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas Citys River Market. The committed steamboat hunter grabbed his metal detector and GPS and started walking. Aboard the sidewheeled steamer was cargo for Peter Sarpy, Papin & Robidoux and other Chouteau trading posts and merchants along the Missouri River. Apple TV & Privacy Hes found 11 and dug up two, including the steamboat Arabia near Kansas City in 1987. "Before I did this, my family ran a heating and air conditioning business." Koinonia Institute is an online Bible Institute with a focus on verse-by-verse study where serious Christians can grow in knowledge, understanding, awareness and commitment! The outline marks the underground location of the steamboat Malta the towns namesake. You hit and you miss., Hawley's father owned a heating and cooling business, and in 1985 Hawley met a customer who "looked for steamboats, flying saucers and Bigfoot. Steamboatvoyages were frequently hazardous, and hundreds of steamboats sank along the Missouri alone. 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,. "That's as good of history as it gets, Hawley said. Discovered by an unlikely team of amateur historians 45 feet beneath a Kansas cornfield . There was an error processing your request. When I host Up To Date each morning at 9 a.m., my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City areas challenges, hopes and opportunities. >> WEVE HAD PEOPLE OUT HERE BEFORE LOOKING FOR IT. Over time, the Missouri River moved, and the area where the boat sank became part of the land, now covered by crops. Support, Available on CuriosityStream, Prime Video. (816) 471-1856|steamboatmuseum@gmail.com. Offer subject to change without notice. You need to be logged in to continue. 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. That same year, he found his first boat, the Missouri Packet, whose engine is now at the museum. 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. It'll be a lot of work, and a lot of money, but to Hawley the prospects are bright. Drilling at the site began in January. And, again based on the Luke's description in Acts, we believe we may have located the ruins of the inland Roman- style villa of Publius and his father, mentioned in Acts 28:7-8, which we would like to investigate further under Maltese oversight. There is a mural dedicated to the boat in the center of this small town on Highway 65 west of Marshall, and a sign at City Hall depicts a smaller version. Check In Add to history Add to collection Add to watchlist This article was originally published in the Spots along the outline of "hits" are marked with red flags; misses are marked with white flags. His goal is to have one boat from each decade of the Missouri River's steamboat era and place them all in one National Steamboat Museum. ITS GREAT EXERCISE EVEN IF YOU DONT FIND ANYTHING. The places with high levels of metal are circled within the outline in orange paint. The Bible, however, places the location of Paul's shipwreck in a different area than the traditional site. 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. 2023 Atlas Obscura. People, you know, a mile away figured it might be on their property or whatever.Hawley wasnt the first to come to Backes front door asking to search the property. As I began to investigate Luke's account more carefully, one detail kept jumping off the pages of Scripture at me: after all the horror and travail of the storm at sea, and the ship's narrow escape by putting out four stern anchors in the middle of the night, the next morning ". 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. "We knew it had to be here somewhere, Backes said. Digging up another boat, especially not knowing what is inside, is high-risk, he said. People, you know, a mile away figured it might be on their property or whatever.. MALTA BEND, Mo. That meant everything from axes to saddlesto skillets to umbrellas. Everything today supported his hypothesis, he said. Watch their journey below. Hawley has found several sunken steamboats. There is much yet to do at Malta. And - most important of all - we had photos and videotape of a physical, verifiable artifact which, with all reasonable certainty, we could identify as having been specifically mentioned in Scripture! The newspapers said the Malta had gone down about two miles from Laynesville, a small town a few miles north of Malta Bend that has since disappeared as the Missouri River changed course. 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,. The oldest dugout ever found there is almost 7,000 years old. We're doing a lot more right than we are wrong, he said. 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. 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. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The committed steamboat hunter grabbed his metal detector and GPS and started walking. But with the Arabia Museum "bursting at the seams," until a new space is found that can accommodate all future boats, the Malta, the Radnor, their cargo and the stories they tell of America's westward expansion remain buried. My email is steve@kcur.org. It was the dish barrel that really gave us the encouragement that the enormous amount of money being spent might actually be worth the gamble.. The treasures contained within painting a vivid picture of western expansion and the treacherous frontier. Rather, it had come about by taking the Bible at face value, using it as a "road map" to guide our research, and then stepping out in faith and putting its details to the test in a tangible way. The steamboat Malta begins to reveal its 175-year-old mystery. (writer) Cast Produced by Film Editing by Joi Shilling Jeff Van Bockern See also Hawley had known about the Malta for years, but he waited to start searching until 2014. And research into sailing ships of the day informed me that the anchors in question would have been huge, lead-and-wooden Roman-style anchors common on huge freighters like the one Paul sailed on. 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. Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of KMBC-TV. Hes had discussions with other cities in Missouri and even some in other states. In Malta Bend, Missouri, theres one that sank loaded down with expensive and rare trading goods, and its been underground for nearly 200 years. Apple Inc. Inside, they found 150 gold buttons, fabric, well-preserved ceramics and a large iron hook. You have permission to edit this article. [Bob Cornuke can be contacted at the Biblical Archaeology Search & Exploration (BASE) Institute: (719) 540-9799 or www.baseinstitute.org.]. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. Because of fear of smashing into some rocks in the dark, they drop their anchors. Over time, the Missouri River moved, and the area where the boat sank became part of the land, now covered by crops. Cornfield Shipwreck (3) 37min 2019 NR 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. All her passengers were saved, except for a mule, chained to a sawmill on the ground deck. MALTA BEND, MISSOURI IS HOME TO A SINGLE FOUR WAY STOP AND, A LOT OF CORN. Hawley has big dreams for the Malta and for future steamboat finds. The team worked to find the outline and measurements of the boat, which confirmed that it was the Malta, which sank in 1841. Once on-site in Malta, our multiplied hours of research really began to pay off. It all came out with what we were hoping for.. It was the adventure of finding buried treasure.. There was no sign of the legendary hoard of gold and whiskey barrels. You wont find it on the first day and I didnt find it I dont think in the first year.. Thank you for reading! But for more than a century, no farmer knew exactly where a different type of gold was buried. Please donate here to help make this new, state-of-the-art facility a reality. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. It was like Christmas every day, Hawley says. The city of Malta Bend, Missouri, is named for the sunken ship. A 19th-century steamboat moored at a river bank. The answer lies with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. >> WEVE BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR YEARS TO GET IT TO THIS POINT. 83816, Biblical Archaeology: Paul's 'Miracle at Malta', Astonishing Rediscovery: The Magdalen Papyrus. No videos, backdrops or posters have been added to Cornfield Shipwreck. >> THESE ARE NATIONAL TREASURES. Lost for 132 years, its recovery in 1988 was like finding the King Tuts Tomb of the Missouri River. Today the collection is so vast it is housed in a former fruit market in Kansas City that the team turned into a museum. First one needed to learn to research, then use a metal detector, then run equipment.. The discovery was truly a modern day treasure-hunting story at its best. 400 Grand Blvd. >> THE ONLY TOWN I KNOW OF THAT WAS NAMED FOR A STEAMBOAT. The town has a single four-way stop, a single restaurant and field after field of corn. 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. As it gets, Hawley said free content first mystery is, of course, how a that... Somewhere, Backes said backdrops or posters have BEEN added to cornfield shipwreck it be! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content, on DVD, CD, audio and download. Were frequently hazardous, and hundreds of steamboats sank along the Missouri alone steamboat, Hawley.... Underground location of the steamboat Malta the towns namesake up buried in a.... 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