The ''Oronoco'' (also ''Oronoko'') was a

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

steamboat that exploded on April 21, 1838, killing at least 100 people. The ''Oronoco'' was anchored in the river (with intentions of sending a

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

to shore to pick up mail) opposite

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

about north of

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

, when a flue collapsed. Most of the passengers on deck were killed or maimed by a steam explosion; most of the passengers in cabins below deck survived.

References

{{ship-stub 1838 in the United States Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River Steamboats of the Mississippi River Maritime boiler explosions Maritime incidents in the United States Steamships of the United States April 1838 events 1830s explosions