Arabia Steamboat Museum

Arabia Steamboat Museum Arabia Steamboat Museum houses 200 tons of frontier-bound cargo lost when the steamboat sank in 1856. What was actually discovered will amaze you!
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When the steamboat Arabia sank in the Missouri River in 1856, some said she carried gold...others said fine china. Explore the lives of the Western pioneers through the story of the sunken Arabia and its cargo, a remarkable time capsule of life on the American frontier. You will also be intrigued by one of the greatest treasure-hunting stories ever told. And don’t be surprised if you are greeted b

y one of the original excavators as they are often here to welcome guests.Their tale of adventure has made the museum a favorite Kansas City attraction since 1991.

- One of the questions we hear every week........"Are you all volunteers?" No, we're paid employees with varying profe...
06/17/2026

- One of the questions we hear every week........

"Are you all volunteers?"

No, we're paid employees with varying professional backgrounds, interests, and personal histories.

In the Lab, there are two anthropologists (one with emphasis in archaeology and one cultural) and an archivist. This summer we have an intern who's studying anthropology/archaeology. Of the tour guides, there are two former teachers, a communications professional, and an anthropology student. In the Gift Shop there is a teacher, a retiree, a VR technician, and an IT professional. We also have a videographer and an education professional. Some of us drift between upstairs and downstairs, of course, supporting each other as needed.

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo dis...
06/13/2026

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo discovered on the Arabia.
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Scroll bottles, the Tupperware pitcher of 1856! Produced in a multitude of sizes and colors, the Arabia carried only two sizes and shades of aquamarine and apple green colors.

I'd hoped to tell the story of C. Ihmsen & Co (or Son), the proposed manufacturer of these bottles. But connecting the dots proved a bit more difficult than anticipated.

Located in Pittsburgh, PA, C. Ihmsen did, indeed, have a successful, busy glassworks. From 1836 to 1855, the company name was C. Ihmsen & Co (C.I. & Co); from '55-'61, C. Ihmsen & Son (in the City Directories); and from '55-'75, C. Ihmsen & Sons or C.I. & Sons. This all may seem a bit of a nitpick, but the distinction often helps pinpoint year of manufacture. Whichever moniker the company went under, generally speaking the wares were stamped or embossed, "C.I. & Co" at the least.

These bottles have no embossing, no stamping, no indication of any label residue. The proposed identification rests on a single sentence in "Treasure in a Cornfield" "...The next box contained beautiful blue and green bottles packed in straw, manufactured by Christian Ihmsen and Sons". Nowhere does it say the boxes were marked as such, though Ihmsen would have been one of the few known makers of the era to show up in research. Several other references now available in the online sphere refer back to this sentence, and one expands the story to say that none of the "eight boxes" were able to be saved or preserved. To date, I have not seen any box marked as such, nor are any documented in the records. DISCLAIMER: that doesn't mean they don't exist, just that we haven't seen them yet.

The answer likely lies in the very next paragraph of the book, attributed to the article "The Mystery behind the G-IXs" by Ralph Finch, that "practically every glasshouse along the river made them." With such popularity, so many types and colors and sizes, the glass known to the modern world as "scroll bottle" was made by an untold number of manufacturers, mostly unmarked due to sheer volume.

So, who made the Arabia's beautiful aquamarine and light green "scroll" bottles? Unknown. It could still be C. Ihmsen & Son(s). But does it really matter? They are a lovely bit of color, fragile vessels meant to brighten frontier homes ... which now grace the shelves of a museum for all to see and enjoy.

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo dis...
06/06/2026

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo discovered on the Arabia.

In the Arabia's cargo are several examples of “new-old stock”, things which may have been found at the back of a shelf and offered up at a discounted rate, items which were not necessarily the newest or latest innovation but still served the purpose. Of those, we introduce a hand full of files with the manufacturer's name of Ashton & Jackson.

Richard Ashton and William Jackson went into business in 1841 or so in Sheffield, England. They were manufacturers of edge tools, files, cutlery, straight razors and other such fine implements. Eager to break into the American market with its boom of westward expansion by making and exporting “American style cutlery”, the partners opened a shop in New York City about 1844.

The partnership was officially dissolved in February 1846, and Ashton died on November 13 of the same year at age 36. Though Jackson maintained the business “for a few years”, by 1850 the wares bore the stamp of his name only. The remaining Ashton & Jackson goods were announced for auction in August 1847 in New York. After that, there is no further mention of the company. Wm. Jackson & Co continued to do business in NY from 1851, and in 1853 the English manufactory moved to the Sheaf Island Works (Sheffield) location.

Back to the files found in the Arabia cargo. By the stamp, these were made prior to 1846, hence the idea these were “new old stock”, perhaps bought at that 1847 auction. There are five which have a legible stamp, though there could be more, of course, on which the stamp was too shallow to read any longer. They are a whopping 20” long from tip to tip, single cut, and likely as functional as the day they were packed for their eventual sale to a frontier settler.

A quick parking and access update for guests planning to visit the Steamboat Arabia Museum:For the past 51 consecutive d...
05/26/2026

A quick parking and access update for guests planning to visit the Steamboat Arabia Museum:

For the past 51 consecutive days, the traffic delineators placed along Grand Blvd in front of the museum have repeatedly remained in place during normal weekday business hours, making direct access into our parking lot unnecessarily difficult for many visitors.

Weekend traffic control in the River Market is completely understandable and expected. The ongoing issue has been weekday access, particularly while nearby River Market access points and parking areas continue to reopen normally each week.

Over the past several weeks, we have:

* submitted formal reports through the City,
* documented the issue repeatedly,
* communicated with River Market representatives,
* escalated the concern through multiple channels,
* and received multiple notices stating the issue had been “resolved.”

As of today, the delineators remain in place once again.

For guests visiting the museum, the easiest access to our parking lot is currently by approaching southbound on Grand Blvd from the north side of the River Market district. Guests may also find nearby public River Market parking to be the simplest option during this ongoing situation.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and support while we continue trying to get this corrected.

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo dis...
05/23/2026

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo discovered on the Arabia.

T. Tillotson & Co Sheffield, England – cutlery and edged tools

T. Tillotson & Co, founded in 1789 by Thomas Tillotson, became a prominent family-owned business known for high quality knives, straight razors and hand tools such as chisels and saws – basically anything with an edge. The company saw several iterations throughout the years, eventually closing (in the US, at least) around 1861. Interestingly, Tillotson & Co ads appears in California newspapers in 1854 but not in the East Coast papers we're used to finding wholesalers and importers though the company had a warehouse in New York.

In the cargo, this company is represented by small countersink bits.

"Do you work on other things, or is it just Arabia stuff?"If you mean, do we work on artifacts for other people or ins...
05/20/2026



"Do you work on other things, or is it just Arabia stuff?"

If you mean, do we work on artifacts for other people or institutions, the answer is no.

If you're asking if we only work on artifacts from the Arabia, the answer is yes ... and no.

The partners have excavated or test-drilled for several steamboats, and that creates potential preservations tasks for each. The Missouri Packet, a small steamer sunk in 1820 and recovered in 1987, only contained its engine which guests see on their way down the ramp, a few barrels, and a smattering of miscellaneous metal bits. These all needed preservation and on-going conservation. Test-drills of the EA Ogden and of the Tropic resulted in only a hand full of artifacts. The test-drill of the Malta, however, saw a lot of brass buttons, wool bits, and wood scraps which all needed cleaning and preservation.

The overwhelming bulk of the work, however, is the cargo of the Arabia, and we're not finished with initial preservation yet!

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo dis...
05/16/2026

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo discovered on the Arabia.

Edward Behr - importer.

German born Henry Edward Vonderbehr immigrated to the US in the later half of the 1840s with his wife and young family. Presumably that is when the last name was shortened to "Behr". They settled in New Jersey at first where he is officially listed as a "paper hanger". However, in the 1853 "Official Catalogue of the Official Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations", his name appears as import agent for two Prussian companies which manufactured "carriage trimmings etc" and "Locks and locksmiths' ware, and other hardware", respectively. This seems to corroborate with the very few ads in the NY newspapers naming him as an importer of hardware, vises, saws, brass goods, etc. The scissors shown here from the cargo have the name "Edward Behr" stamped above the pivot point, and since he was not a manufacturer, these may be 'advertising' merch of a sort.

In 1860, however, the import business went to auction ... apparently so he could finally concentrate on his favorite hobby, skates! Behr held three patents for improvements on ice skates. After the import business dissolved, he is listed in directories as "skate manufacturer" until his death in 1864/65 of pneumonia.

- The (Modern) Chronicles of the Steamer ArabiaOur next Chronicle comes from Gretchen Barclay. She writes:My father wo...
05/13/2026

- The (Modern) Chronicles of the Steamer Arabia

Our next Chronicle comes from Gretchen Barclay. She writes:

My father would always drive from Manhattan, KS, to show out-of-state guests this unique museum. He was a scientist and traveled the world but was fascinated by the Arabia discovery and story. [He] would name the Steamship [sic] Arabia Museum as his favorite. My father passed at age 90, and Treasure in the Cornfield was one of few books he kept to the end of his life.

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo dis...
05/09/2026

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo discovered on the Arabia.
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A photo from excavation shows one crate with the words "217 lbs. C Gove Council Bluffs" clearly written on the lid. It is likely that these boxes contained some of the fi****ms present within the collection along with some ammunition, gunpowder, beads, and thimbles.

Labeled as “C. Grove” in the Spencer lists, Carlos Gove was a prolific gunsmith who ran a store in Council Bluffs on Broadway between early 1854 and mid-1859 — leaving for Colorado after that — which sold various fi****ms, accoutrements, and goods for trading with indigenous tribes.

Notably, a few months before the Arabia’s sinking, Gove was involved with an incident onboard the Edinburgh where bandits came aboard and stole the cannon that he was shipping up to Council Bluffs. He had attempted to explain that the field artillery was heading to Iowa and not to Kansas, but it was taken regardless. His shipment of fi****ms were also searched; however, they were left alone due to not being Sharpe’s Rifles.

He was renowned for inventing several highly-accurate fi****ms, showing a proclivity towards rifles, as seen with his 1855 invention that was touted as “the most perfect specimen of a shooting-iron… that it was ever our good fortune to behold”. He continued to make well-made fi****ms throughout the duration of his stay in Council Bluffs, with an 1857 article stating, “At Gove’s factory some of the best guns in the Union are manufactured.”

He was also known to be an excellent marksman — focusing on longarm competitions — having organized and participated in many different shooting competitions in Iowa and Colorado. He was quite a spitfire, being known for trash-talking his competition. He later developed a heated rivalry in competitions and in business with another Denver gunsmith named Morgan Rood during the 1860s and ‘70s.

Later in life, Gove continued on with his business, selling and manufacturing guns. Eventually, he began working at the Denver Armory with his sons as “C. Gove & Sons”, which sold Colt’s, Sharpe’s, Winchester’s, and Ballard rifles. He retired from the business in 1884, switching to politics. He died in 1900.

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo d...
05/02/2026

- Wherein we share tantalizing tidbits on some of the destinations, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers of the cargo discovered on the Arabia.

George Ibbotson – Wadsley (Sheffield) England - pocket knife

George (b. ~1829) was a bit of a prodigy, reportedly “grinding” (blade edges) at age 12. Ten years later, he's listed as a coach spring maker. Whatever he did between 1851 and 1861 is a bit vague since it is only at that point he's in the Sheffield directory as a spring knife cutler. However, we know he was making quality pocket knives in 1855-1856 because we have at least eleven with his name stamp. Oddly we found him instead as an “ivory cutter” (which is a person who cut handles for cutlery out of bone or other organic matter) in the 1856 directory.

The pocket knife we have marked “Ibbotson Wadsley” seems to have been specifically marketed for fishermen and sailors. The inscription on one side “FOR NEW ENGLAND WHALERS” attests to this. There is a notch on one end of the handle by which to attach a lanyard. The larger blade is a variation of the 'sheepfoot' style, a robust shape that cuts through a light line with ease. Obviously there aren't many whalers in Nebraska or Iowa, so we're guessing these were for general fishermen as well as the novelty factor.

Note: I admit, we were a little disappointed to learn that this particular George Ibbotson was not the one from Silver Street who was a contemporary and a cutlery maker. That George had a wife named Mary who, after she was widowed, was listed as in the cutlery manufacture business in her own right. Adding a bit of spice to an otherwise common tale, there was a court case wherein she was charged and convicted in 1856 of stealing £35 worth of spring knives from George Wostenholm, another of our pocket knife manufacturers. She was sentenced and presumably completed her sentence of nine months' hard labor. In 1862, she was known as a pen (knife) and pocket knife manufacturer.

Address

400 Grand Boulevard
Kansas City, MO
64106

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+18164711856

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