Large Anchor on Monument - St. Charles, MO - Anchors on Waymarking.com

County of memorial: St. Charles County
Location of memorial: 100 yards N of W. Clay St., in cemetery, St. Charles<
Erected: Monument 1871
Erected by: The City of St. Charles;
   Plaque: VFW 2866, St. Charles;
    Marker: Missouri Department of Natural Resources

This anchor, possibly a river boat anchor, is hanging off the back side of the memorial stack for the Wabash Bridge Disaster Monument.

Marker Text:

History of the Wabash Bridge

1868 - Construction of the Wabash begins

1870 - A 15 foot steel column collapses during construction.  Eighteen bridge workers killed

1871 - Bridge is completed in May, and, at the time, was the first bridge to span the Missouri River.

1879 - A portion of the Wabash Bridge collapsed while a train was crossing.  Eighteen cars fell in to the river and five men were killed.

1881 - The Wabash Railroad Bridge, once again, fails.  31 cattle perish and freight cars are hurled into the river.  John Kirby, an engineer, was the only human fatality.

1884 - The steamboat Montana collides with a Wabash Railroad Bridge Pier.  There was no salvaging the boat.  Its remains are on the bottom of the Missouri River and can still be seen in low water levels.

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