Steamboat Betrand

On April 1, 1865, the steamboat Bertrand sank in the Missouri River.  After hitting a snag in the river near Omaha, the boat sank in less than 10 minutes, with almost all the cargo lost.  In 1968, an excavation of the wreck, now located within the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, took place.  More than 500,000 artifacts were recovered and are now on display.  As the cargo remained untouched for nearly 100 years, it became a time-capsule of life in the United States in the 1860s.  From barrels of flour and jars of honey, to coats, shoes, and clocks, these artifacts are key to understanding what life was like in the past.  The Bertrand demonstrates which goods traveled from St. Louis to the Montana Territory along the Missouri river, and visitors can now see these artifacts in the Bertrand’s museum, located inside the DeSoto Refuge.