One has to wonder whether the diversion of this river is the origin of a scifi trope. Ships being found far from any water is today a common image to suggest that someone/thing has lifted and moved the ship. But just after the diversion of this river, many wrecks would have been left high and dry in the middle of fields, an odd sight.
I toured the Arabia museum last month. According to a map there, there were about 249 such steamship wrecks between St Louis and just upstream of Kansas City. The average steamship lasted just 5 years in service.
