ST. CHARLES, Mo. — River levels have dropped due to the 2012 drought. According to KTVI in St. Louis, levels of the Missouri River are near record lows, and as the water continues to drop, “little pieces of history are peeking above the surface”
Five ship-wrecked steamboats dot the shorelines between St. Charles and Bridgeton along the Missouri River. One of them, the Montana Steamboat, was apparently the largest vessel to ever sail through, and now it’s starting to peer up from under the receding water.
The Montana Steamboat was built in 1882 and was longer than a football field. In 1884 it struck a tree underwater and sank. It’s remained in its wrecked position for the last 128 years.
Federal law makes ships like the sunken Montana property of the state of Missouri. KTVI has more on the story.
