Bricks on bow?

Dave,
What color are the bricks? Firebox could have had some firebricks. OTOH, could have been part of the freight, although lots of clay in the area to make one's own bricks.
S'
David D.

Red bricks.

Dave Freeman

Hi Dave,

I dug down at about 8 feet back from the bow. I found some brown ooze, which may have been the wood of the deck, some red clay squarish blobs which looked like they where once bricks and one small nail.

Dave Freeman

*RE: CALIFORNIA 'bricks,' relics*

Hi, Tom & Steamboating colleagues:
Off hand, I'd say David Dewey is 'on' to the bricks possibly being from the CALIFORNIA boiler linings. I'm no expert in any field but know fire brick is much harder in composition than regular period building bricks of the day. Bricks as cargo also a very strong possibility. Other things such as "brown ooze" a good guess. Tom Schiffer [Cap n' Walnut], Cap n' Bill Judd, Kenny Howe--and others around steam boilers--on this web may know. As for "one stack or two" you will no doubt find with more excavations and steamboat 'forenics' finding one boiler. Keep us posted along with any photos you have taken. Just where is the boat's present location? Up the Sacramento? In/near the river delta? Good luck!

R. Dale Flick

On a round bottom ship having rounded the Horn, bricks could have been ballast too.

Dale: All the fire brick I ever saw or saw used was straw colored. I don't say there could not have been red fire brick but I never saw any. Cap'n Walnut

The "California" is about 100 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County in the 1850 Sacramento River channel. It is sort of west of Chico Ca. It was "snagged" Aug. 1 1850 in route to the town of Tehama. It was Captained by a E.C. Boober.

The ship blocked the river and caused the start of the now ghost town of Monroeville.

Dave Freeman

HI Dave,
Takes me a while to get to post here--work work work--AAAUGH!!
Yes, all firebrick I've known is yellow. I hadn't thought about ballast, although I doubt you've dug that deep yet. Gonna rain soon, probably cut back on your digging until after spring high water! Would love to be out there with you, but can't get away from work!
Keep us informed on how it's going!
S'
David D.

The idea of ballast had not occurred to me.

About 1 ½ miles away at the 1850 town of Monroeville, I have found a pile of brick fragments at 1850 riverboat landing. I have wondered why they were just left behind. Could a riverboat have traded the ballast bricks for some payload?

The 150 yards of the riverbank at Monroeville is kind of cool in a historical perspective.

At the North end is the 1845 “boat landing “where Peter Lassen loaded grindstones into a hollowed out tree and then floated them to Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento and a few days later down the delta and across the bay to San Francisco.

Next to it (down stream) was Monroe Landing. Was used until 1908 and had concrete supports with a wooden dock and warehouse.

Just a bit further down stream is where the riverboats stopped in 1850 to 1865. The boats just pulled up to the bank and did their business. At this part of the bank, I have found small nails, maybe from crates being pried open. Also that pile of brick fragments.

In fact, all bricks from 1850 in that area are in fragments from age.

Dave Freeman

Ballast trade

Sure, Tom/Dave, the ballast could have been traded for other goods. It happened all the time in New Orleans.

Thanks Judy,

That makes sense about the ballast.

Also I do not know why this forum lists me as Tom Adams.

Dave Freeman

Dave,
Just consider it a Secret Identity! 🙂
S'
David D.