Drought Reveals Forgotten WWI-Era Shipwrecks Hidden Beneath River Surface in Texas

As a blistering drought lowers water levels in Texas' Neches and Sabine rivers, secrets from the past are coming to the surface—five of them, in fact.

The Ice House Museum located in Silsbee shared the discovery on social media. A man riding a jet ski on the Neches River earlier this month spotted the remnants of five wooden ships just beneath the water's surface.

“It was only by accident he found them—he was on his jet ski in an area too low for a boat when he hit something," the museum said. "He then spent the next three hours investigating and taking 250 detailed photos and videos."

The Texas Historical Commission shared more information about the shipwrecks. According to an Aug. 24 news release, the ships were constructed more than 100 years ago during World War I, but were abandoned and forgotten when the war ended.

"Altogether nearly 40 wooden-hulled vessels, formerly operated by the U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC), are in east Texas rivers, comprising one of the largest collections of WWI vessel abandonment sites in the United States,” the commission said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

The organization went on to explain that they were designed as steamships and were nearly 300 feet long when fully constructed. The ships never saw combat and were outdated even by the standards of a century ago, according to the Ice House Museum. As a result, the government struggled to get rid of them, even at low prices.

"On December 1, 1924, as reported in The Beaumont Enterprise, six ships caught fire north of Beaumont on the Neches and burned to the waterline. Nature eventually claimed them to the river bottom,” the museum said. “It is possible that the 5 ships found by [jet skier] Bill Milner and reported to the museum could be them.”

The museum team and local officials aren't disclosing just where in the river the wreckage was found to avoid looting. Disturbing shipwreck sites may be in violation of federal and state laws; on top of that, it can be a dangerous business. "If you encounter these wrecks or other unknown underwater wreckage, play it safe and leave it alone,” the Texas Historical Commission said.

If you happen to stumble upon the shipwreck, just admire the century-old history from afar.