Today in Wheeling History: March 24--The steamboat Bertrand, built in Wheeling, was added to the National Register of Historic Places (1969).
The Bertrand represents an important chapter in Wheeling's rich boat-building legacy. Launched in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1864, this 161-foot steamboat with a 32-foot beam was designed as a shallow-draft vessel, drawing only 18 inches when light. It was likely owned by the Montana and Idaho Transportation Line of St. Louis, partly owned by John J. Roe. The Bertrand was built in Wheeling, continuing the city's significant tradition of steamboat construction that began in 1815 and produced 225 steamboats over nearly a century.
On April 1, 1865, under Captain James Yore's command, the Bertrand struck a submerged log in the DeSoto Bend of the Missouri River, about 25 miles upstream from Omaha, Nebraska. The vessel sank in less than ten minutes in 12 feet of water. While no lives were lost, the cargo—valued with the vessel at approximately $100,000—was almost entirely lost.
More than a century later, in 1968, private salvagers Sam Corbino and Jesse Pursell discovered the wreck in the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Over 500,000 artifacts were recovered from the hold, creating what is now the largest intact collection of Civil War-era artifacts in the United States. These remarkably well-preserved items—ranging from clothing and tools to food and consumer goods—provide a unique window into frontier life in 1865 and are displayed at the Steamboat Bertrand Museum at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2dxerezs), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (https://tinyurl.com/47j428bu), Only in Your State (https://tinyurl.com/58xzme4c), Steamboat Bertrand Museum Facebook Page (https://tinyurl.com/34tt7rj2), Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/5a87frb3), Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/5w528dte); The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/3dv4mn92) (https://tinyurl.com/yj37dff), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/yfvh8t2f)
Photo credits: Weelunk, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The Bertrand represents an important chapter in Wheeling's rich boat-building legacy. Launched in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1864, this 161-foot steamboat with a 32-foot beam was designed as a shallow-draft vessel, drawing only 18 inches when light. It was likely owned by the Montana and Idaho Transportation Line of St. Louis, partly owned by John J. Roe. The Bertrand was built in Wheeling, continuing the city's significant tradition of steamboat construction that began in 1815 and produced 225 steamboats over nearly a century.
On April 1, 1865, under Captain James Yore's command, the Bertrand struck a submerged log in the DeSoto Bend of the Missouri River, about 25 miles upstream from Omaha, Nebraska. The vessel sank in less than ten minutes in 12 feet of water. While no lives were lost, the cargo—valued with the vessel at approximately $100,000—was almost entirely lost.
More than a century later, in 1968, private salvagers Sam Corbino and Jesse Pursell discovered the wreck in the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Over 500,000 artifacts were recovered from the hold, creating what is now the largest intact collection of Civil War-era artifacts in the United States. These remarkably well-preserved items—ranging from clothing and tools to food and consumer goods—provide a unique window into frontier life in 1865 and are displayed at the Steamboat Bertrand Museum at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2dxerezs), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (https://tinyurl.com/47j428bu), Only in Your State (https://tinyurl.com/58xzme4c), Steamboat Bertrand Museum Facebook Page (https://tinyurl.com/34tt7rj2), Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/5a87frb3), Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/5w528dte); The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/3dv4mn92) (https://tinyurl.com/yj37dff), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/yfvh8t2f)
Photo credits: Weelunk, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
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