"Hidden shipwreck" from World War I revealed at bottom of Texas river amid hot, dry weather

Scorching summer heat continues to sizzle

A "hidden shipwreck" from World War I has been revealed at the bottom of a Texas river thanks to a summer heat wave and low rainfall, Texas historians said Thursday. 

The wreck was found in the Neches River by a local man, Bill Milner, according to a Facebook post by the Ice House Museum, located in Silsbee, Texas. Portions of the wreck were in water that was just knee-deep, the museum said. Milner found the wreck while jet skiing in the area last week, and hit something in the water. It tuned out to be the remains of five different ships.  

The museum contacted the Texas Historical Commission to investigate and research the ships and later said that maritime archaeologist Amy Borgens told them that the wreck has been known to the Texas Historical Commission since the 2000s. 

On Tuesday, the commission was able to confirm that the vessels were from the U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation. These large ships, with hulls as long as 282 feet, were built in Beaumont, Texas during World War I. Since many vessels were unfinished, they were abandoned in the area at the conclusion of the war or converted to barges or sold for scrap. 

Nearly 40 wooden-hulled vessels from the same corporation that are in east Texas rivers, the commission said on Facebook, making them "one of the largest collections of WWI vessel abandonment sites in the United States." 

The commission said that anyone who finds a shipwreck or other underwater wreckage should "play it safe and leave it alone." Many sites are protected by state and federal laws, and those who disturb the wrecks or visit them without the proper permissions can face penalties and fines. The wrecks can also be dangerous for amatuer visitors, the commission said. 

It's not uncommon for old shipwrecks to be exposed in bodies of water during periods of drought.

Last July, a sunken World War II-era boat was found in Nevada's Lake Mead and in 2021, a shipwreck from 1892 became visible to visitors in Arkansas because of a statewide drought.

In Europe last year, low water levels along the Danube River exposed about two dozen sunken ships that belonged to the German army during World War II.

In:
• Shipwreck
• Texas

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.