Drought causes water levels to drop, revealing sunken wooden ships in Texas river

AUSTIN, Texas — AUSTIN, Texas — A marine archeologist is expected to visit the Neches River in Jasper County in East Texas soon to find out what kind of sunken wooden ships were discovered there last week.

A man riding a Jet Ski found the remnants of one or more boats that experts believe may be over 150-years-old.

“I wasn't sure what I was seeing, but I could tell it was a very large vessel,” said Bill Milner of Evadale, who made the discoveries while on the water.

Milner spoke with KBMT-TV reporter Gloria Walker, telling her low water levels caused by the intense drought revealed the wooden ship debris just inches below the water's surface.

Milner said that he’s certain there are many other old vessels that have sunk in the river and wanted to share the pictures he captured with experts to learn more about what he found.

The Neches River was once a busy waterway. Since the 1800’s, various types of wooden ships carried lumber and cotton. Some boats were used as ferries, others reminiscent of the riverboats of the Old South that carried gamblers, partygoers and sightseers.

Today, the wooden boats are long gone and the river mostly used for bass fishing and recreation.

Milner sent hundreds of pictures he captured to the Ice House Museum in Silsbee, Texas, several miles from where he made his discovery. The photos drew hundreds of reactions on the museum’s Facebook page.

Museum official Susan Kilcrease reached out to the Texas Historical Commission in Austin to request that a marine archeologist be sent to examine Milner’s discoveries to find out the type of boats that were found and how they wound up below the waters of the Neches River.