NEAR BLAIR, Neb. (KOLN) – A steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1865 is the centerpiece of an exhibit at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge visitor center, where thousands of well-preserved artifacts from the vessel remain on display.
The steamboat Bertrand was built in 1864 in Wheeling, West Virginia. It traveled down the Missouri River in late November of that year and spent the early winter months in St. Louis before being sold to the Montana and Idaho Transportation Company in early 1865.
The vessel departed St. Louis in March 1865, bound for Montana, where gold had been discovered and supplies were needed. It reached Omaha before continuing north. On the morning of April 1, 1865, the Bertrand left North Omaha, traveled approximately 22 river miles north of the city, struck a sunken log and sank…