When you picture a shipwreck, you might think of the tragic tale of the Titanic. Or maybe your mind jumps right to the thrill of sunken treasure. But odds are, there’s one thing you don’t think of when you hear the word shipwreck – the state of West Virginia. But believe it or not, West Virginia has seen her share of shipwrecks, some of which can still be found at the bottom of lakes and rivers throughout the state to this day. And what better place to start a story about a shipwreck in West Virginia than with the Ohio River.
At 981 miles in length, the mighty Ohio River that defines the boundary between West Virginia and Ohio is the third largest river in the U.S. and the largest tributary of the Mississippi River.
It also flows through or along four other states: Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.
Unsurprisingly, this large river sustains a large amount of life. Over three million people rely on the Ohio for drinking water. It was a primary route for pioneer westward expansion. Even its name signifies its importance: Ohio is from a Seneca word meaning "Good River."
Adding to its national significance, ships have been using the Ohio for centuries, paddling, steaming, or motoring their way up and down river with cargo as varied as the countryside through which the river passes - mail, coal, cement, food, people, and more.
And this combination of mighty river and many cargo ships has led to not a few tragic shipwrecks, including several just off the West Virginia shoreline.
One memorable West Virginia shipwreck is that of the passenger and trade steamer H.K. Bedford in February of 1912, just a couple months before the sinking of the Titanic. The boat sprung an inexplicable leak in the middle of the night at the Ralph Beam Landing down from Waverly, West Virginia. As it sank, it was totally destroyed by chunks of ice floating south from Pittsburgh that were flung against the vessel by an unusually swollen river.
Amazingly, all the passengers (many of whom were women and children) and crew survived. The ship remained on the river bottom until it was removed at low water in 1914.
The H.K. Bedford isn't the only ship to have sunk in the Ohio River, either - dozens of others have met the same fate, and not all have been without loss of life. As beautiful as this river is, and as much life as it sustains, it's also a watery grave.
To learn more about the H. K. Bedford and see another photo of her steaming along the Ohio River, visit the Historic Harmar Village in Marietta, Ohio’s facebook page here.
Another Ohio River-related disaster that was much, much worse than the sinking of the H. K. Bedford was the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which you can read some about here.
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