More photos from my trip....

One of the places my students at the Heartland Stitch Counters retreat told me I should visit in their area was the Steamboat Arabia. What a remarkable treat that turned out to be!

The Arabia, a sidewheeler, sank in the Missouri River on September 5, 1856 after hitting a tree snag. Thankfully, the only casualty was a mule. (Well, perhaps the mule was not thankful for this.)

In 1987, a group of men set out to find the Arabia. Over the years, the course of the river had shifted a half mile from its location in 1856. The steamboat, which was fully loaded when it sank, was found in a cornfield and buried under 45 feet of silt. The digging was a long and tedious job, but thousands of artifacts were uncovered and preserved and are now on display in the museum.

Here is a list of items that were on the Arabia when it sunk. Quite a few pertain to needlework. I loved the calico buttons. You can read more about calico buttons here.

There was an enormous amount of china on display. Here are two pieces. Here is some of the jewelry which is on display.

Preservation continues even today on the found items. The museum has the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts.

You can read more about the Steamboat Arabia here, here, or here.

Another interesting place I visited was the Watkins Wool Mill which claims to be the only surviving wool mill from the 1860’s. Would you believe the original equipment is still in place? Although the wool mill was already closed for the day by the time I arrived, I was able to learn about the mill through a film and exhibits, and I was also able to walk the grounds.

I think you'll agree that I had a lovely trip.