The Montana was a shining example of modern design and technological sophistication when it made its maiden voyage in 1879. But it is remembered for its ironic end: only five years after it was launched, the Montana struck a railroad bridge near Bridgeton, Missouri, and sank.
One of the largest stern-wheel vessels ever to navigate a western river, the Montana was built to compete with railroads. The recent archaeological excavation of its wreckage, combined with a wealth of written and visual material documenting its construction and use, offers fascinating insights into a little-known aspect of Western expansion.
“Remarkable not only for the history told here, not only for the archaeological documentation of a Missouri River steamboat wreck, but for the masterful manner in which Corbin and Rodgers have melded history and archaeology.”?Douglas D. Scott, Nebraska Wesleyan University
“A definitive landmark book on the role of an often misunderstood American icon, the Western River steamboat, in the opening of the West. Corbin and Rodgers have masterfully told the story of the steamer Montana and woven it into the fabric of western development, national growth, and the role of technology and entrepreneurs.”?James P. Delgado, Institute of Nautical Archaeology
The Montana was a shining example of modern design and technological sophistication when it made its maiden voyage in 1879. But it is remembered for its ironic end: only five years after it was launched, the Montana struck a railroad bridge near Bridgeton, Missouri, and sank.
One of the largest stern-wheel vessels ever to navigate a western river, the Montana was built to compete with railroads. The recent archaeological excavation of its wreckage, combined with a wealth of written and visual material documenting its construction and use, offers fascinating insights into a little-known aspect of Western expansion.
