Steamboats

Missouri has seen some historic and tragic tornadoes, but few can rival a twister that tore through St. Louis in the Spring of 1896. It was so fierce it even blew steamboats out of the river.

It's been said that where there is smoke, you'll most of the time find fire. The same can be said of legends. Even among the tallest tales, there is often some truth behind it all. That's the case with a steamboat that sank in Missouri which was said to be carrying tons of gold. The truth is that there have been gold coins found near where it sank near Mound City, Missouri.

It was a cool September day in 1856 when a mighty steamboat on the Missouri River sank to the bottom after hitting a tree hidden under the waters. The goods it carried were lost for more than a century, but now you can see the 200 tons of goods that the steamboat was loaded with before it sank.

A vessel that met its demise in 1870 is now visible again. It was a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River mover than 150 years ago, but it's reemerged from the waters it went down in.

It was such a glorious vessel on the river. The steamboat Sultana carried over 2,300 people up the Mississippi River. However, it would be forever remembered as the boat that would claim over 1,100 lives in 1865.

I had never heard this story, but it's 100% true. A famous steamboat full of treasure and goods is buried under a Missouri corn field and it's unlikely to be dug up anytime soon.