The explosion of the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

''Saluda'', near

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

, in 1852, was one of the worst disasters in Missouri River history. In March 1852, ''Saluda'' left

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

for

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, carrying many

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

immigrants from England and Wales. The river was muddy, icy, and running high as ''Saluda'' stopped at Lexington for supplies before continuing her journey. Just beyond Lexington, a narrow channel with very strong currents made it difficult for ships to make a sharp turn in the river. ''Saluda''s Captain, Francis T. Belt, tried unsuccessfully for two days to make the bend. On Good Friday morning, 9 April 1852, Captain Belt, frustrated by the lack of progress, ordered an increase in steam pressure. ''Saluda'' pushed off, but before the paddlewheel got through its second rotation, the boilers exploded. The explosion could be heard for miles. Those watching from the bluffs in Lexington saw parts of the steamer and bodies blown into the air. They landed in the river, on the wharf, and even on the nearby bluff. Over 100 people were killed, including Captain Belt, many of the passengers, and two men on shore who were hit by debris. Because of the strong current, many bodies were never recovered. Only 40 to 50 people survived. Some of the survivors were pulled onto a passing boat heading down the Missouri River. Within ten minutes of the explosion, ''Saluda'' had sunk. The community of Lexington rushed to help. Doctors worked on the injured, while survivors were cared for in local homes. A fund was raised to bury the dead in local Macpelah Cemetery, as well as to help with the financial needs of the survivors. The townspeople in Lexington took some of the orphaned children into their homes and raised them as their own.

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