Almost a year ago, I first heard about a sunken paddle wheeler called the ARABIA. A group called River Salvage Incorporated from Independence, Missouri, did research on the river boat and decided to salvage it. It had sunk on the way to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1856, near the town of Parkville, Missouri.

The crew and passengers all reached the safety of the shore. The only victim of the sinking was a horse which had been tied to a rail on the deck.

Since the time of the sinking, the river has changed its course so that the remains of the sunken boat and its cargo were discovered in a bean field buried under tons of dirt.

I watched the news with interest in an attempt to keep an eye on the progress of the salvage attempt. Then one day, on the news, they showed the remains of the excavated boat. From deep inside the heart of the boat men were hauling cases of unopened champagne and cognac. They also brought out fine china, Wedgewood basins and pitchers and rare bottles. The vessel basically had everything that a person living in 1856 would ever need. When it sank it was headed to supply general stores in the Council Bluffs area and further north.

An archeologist who visited the site, was quoted as saying that the boat was like "a floating WALMART." But does Walmart have a Telegraph department? Well, it didn't have a telegraph department, but it did have an insulator department on board! There was an entire case full of insulators complete with hardware. There were no manufacturer's markings.

A friend of mine went to see a temporary exhibit of the find which was on display in Independence, Missouri. later, he told me about the insulators which was when I first learned of them. I couldn't wait to take photographs of the "jewels."

So I got in touch with a man who was involved in the dig and was given permission to take pictures of the insulators.

Lightning Rod insulators Found in the Cargo of the ARABIA paddlewheel.

The men with River Salvage, Inc. have been deluged with letters from antique associations and private collectors who want to compare their antiques with those found on the boat. As you can probably imagine, there were many offers to buy the rare cargo but the group would like to keep everything from the wreckage together because they are planning a river transport museum in the Kansas City, Missouri, area. They said that selling the cargo would never pay for the cost of the dig. Their value is in keeping them together. There will be a section dedicated to the insulators which were found. You may have already recognized them as insulators associated with lightning rod ground wires. Of course, this would be a product used primarily by those farmers of the mid-west where lightning rod systems were used in great abundance.

A partial list of the items recovered from the wreck may also be a interest to you: eyeglasses, top hats, pocket knives, razors, wooden clothes pins, porcelain door knobs, school slates, square nails, ink pens and ink wells, and scores of other items. Of course, the item I found to be of most interest were the insulators. Too bad they were not early telegraph types!!!