St. Charles Steamboat Project
See Days 1-20 in Wisconsin and read the Notes From the Field
Day 31: Closing the MONTANA Site
|
Wreck 1 |
Under contract by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State
Historic Preservation Office, Dr. Steve J. Dasovich, Head of the Archaeological
Services Division for SCI Engineering, Inc., of St. Charles, Missouri,
has been monitoring three wrecks in the Missouri River that have appeared
this year due to low water levels. Part of this contract included the
cursory documentation of one of these wrecks. Dr. Dasovich has photo-documented
this wreck since January, 2002. As a result of this contract, Dr. Dasovich
invited East Carolina University's Maritime History Program to conduct
a portion of their 2002 field school on the wreck. The study conducted
by the field school is partially funded by federal funds administered
by the State Historic Preservation Office, Outreach and Assistance Center,
the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and the National Park
Service, through a grant to Dr. Dasovich. However, the contents and
opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National
Park Service or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, nor does
the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute an endorsement
or recommendations. Historic Preservation funds constitute 60 percent
or $3,834 of the total costs of the funding. |
| The Missouri River has claimed many vessels over the years. Three partially submerged shipwrecks laying exposed in low waters are an obvious reminder of that. The St. Charles Steamboat Project is a joint effort by the state of Missouri, East Carolina University, and SCI Engineering to study these wrecks. Based in St. Charles, Missouri, the project is sponsored by ECU and SCI. ECU and SCI archaeologists,along with seven ECU graduate students, will be looking at three nineteenth century steamboats wrecks, focusing on one in particular. One of the graduates students, Chris Valvano, will write his master's thesis on one of the wrecks as well. Dr. Annalies Corbin, primary investigator on the project, is a specialist in inland river transportation and immigration, is the author of of The Material Culture of Steamboat Passengers: |
Wreck 2 |
|
Wreck 3 |
Archaeological Evidence from the Missouri River (2000), and has directed many field schools across the U.S. Dr. Brad Rodgers, co-primary investigator, specializes in nautical archaeology and conservation science, and has directed numerous field school projects for East Carolina University. The ECU crew will be joined by Steve Dasovich, an archaeologist with SCI Engineering. The project is the first systematic survey and excavation of known steamboat wrecks in Missouri. |
Day 21: Site recon - the field crew finally reaches the Missouri River portion of their field project.
Day 24: Rudder and Stern Reveal Secrets
Day 25: The crew gets down and dirty!
Day 28: Mapping: The adventure continues
Day 29: Mapping, NPR, And A Tour Of The GOLDENROD
Day 31: Closing the MONTANA Site