Historic Trading Ship Discovered After Mississippi River Levels Drop

Shipwrecks evoke tragic tales, tall tales of creativeness, and epic bravery within the face of dying.  There are extra shipwrecks in U.S. rivers, shores, and boundary waters than you’d consider. The tales are legendary. They sank in battle, they burned and had been buried within the silt, they had been hit by large storms, and so on.  

The Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) database lists over 10,000 identified wrecks off United States shores alone — and that’s not an entire listing. A brand new wreck, the S.S. Brookhill, was simply found on the banks of the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge. A resident of the realm chanced on it throughout a hike. 

Enter Patrick Ford, Unlikely Shipwreck Hunter

Patrick Ford, a neighborhood hiker, typically walks the shores of the Mississippi River. On October 2, 2022, he was climbing close to the place North Avenue intersects North River Highway (downtown Baton Rouge) and came across the stays of what he quickly discovered to be the S.S. Brookhill, a ferry that sank in 1915. These stays are actually seen due to the continued drought within the Southeast.  Water ranges have dropped considerably, and scour has performed its work, revealing the river’s secrets and techniques. Ford contacted Chip McGimsey, Louisiana state archeologist, and so they met to take a look at the boat.

The Brookhill – Reminiscent Of A Bygone Period In Transportation

The Brookhill was the most recent in river transportation when it joined the Baton Rouge ferry fleet in 1896. Its function was to hold visitors throughout the river at evening. The Brookhill’s sister ship, the Istrouma, was the day ferry. Each had been moored on the metropolis docks.

The Brookhill was designed to be a “bootjack” ferry.  The ship’s two picket pontoons supported a deck, boiler, and paddlewheel that carried wagons, livestock, and folks forwards and backwards between Port Allen and Baton Rouge’s enterprise district. 

In accordance with McGimsey, the deck, paddlewheel, and left pontoon had been in all probability washed away by the river. The left pontoon settled within the mud of the Mississippi. Archaeologists final noticed what stays of the Brookhill again in 1992, the final time the river was this low. McGimsey stated the boat’s situation and lack of historic significance make it a poor candidate for preservation.

The U.S. Is Residence To The World’s Most Useful Shipwreck

Wrecked off the coast of the Florida Keys in 1622, the Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de Atocha is probably the most invaluable shipwreck to ever be recovered to this point. At the moment holding a Guinness World Document for its recovered worth (because it was carrying 40 tons of gold, silver, and 71 kilos of emeralds), the Atocha is situated solely 35 miles from the Florida Keys’ coast and is a continuing treasure trove for divers and fortune hunters alike.