There is an interesting story online about the finding of a Mississippi River boat that had sunk in 1856 and quickly buried in the river silt. Individuals have excavated and salvaged the site using their own money. It cost at least $1 million to do this and they then have set up a museum in a local abandoned vegetable warehouse. To clean and display all the items from the paddle wheeler will take another 30 years of work. Read about it here.
Hardware salvaged from the Arabia

Tags: Mississippi River, Boats