Large Anchor on Monument - St. Charles, MO
Posted by: YoSam.
N 38° 47.138 W 090° 31.235
15S E 715358 N 4295908
Anchor attached to disaster monument.
Waymark Code: WM16TH8
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 10/03/2022
Views: 0
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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