Arks, Broadhorns, and Hoop-Pole Boats: The America Flatboat Wreck in Southern Illinois

Summary

Shoe-box shaped "flatboats" represented the most common vessel type on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from 1770-1900. Although  tens of thousands of these boats were built during this period, by 1915 a historian lamented that "not one of them remains" . In 2002, however, SIU archaeologists documented the remains of  an early 1800s  flatboat wreck found resting on the Illinois shoreline near the abandoned town of "America". Subsequent documentation of the 45 ft long x 12 ft wide wreck provided previously unknown first-hand information regarding flatboat building techniques that contradicted information in written accounts.  Although the cause of the wreck could not be definitely determined, the America appears to have had a leaking stern joint that may have given way as the boat wound its way down the Ohio river through southern Illinois. The cargo appears to have been salvaged  with some tools, kitchen utensils, and clothing items left behind.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• In Black Water And In Bright Sunshine: Three Decades of Riverine Archaeology In Inland Waterways

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 343