Remarkable Ohio

Counties

Below is a complete listing of all Ohio Historical Markers. To find a detailed marker listing including text, photographs, and locations, click on a county below. Our listing is updated by the markers program as new markers are installed and older markers are reported damaged or missing.

3-84 The “Buckeye Belle” Explosion

Side A: On November 12, 1852, the riverboat “Buckeye Belle” exploded at this site. Twenty-four people died and a dozen were injured in the worst steamboat disaster on the Muskingum River. An eyewitness described the scene: “The bank of the canal was covered with dead and mutilated bodies and fragments of the boat and cargo.” Boiler explosions were a hazard of steamboat travel. The safety record on the Muskingum River was good. There are only two other recorded riverboat explosions on the Muskingum River. The “Newark” blew-up in 1847 at Rokeby, killing four, and the “L.C. McCormick” exploded in 1879 south of Beverly, killing one.
Side B: Same
Sponsors: The Muskingum River Parkway and The Ohio Historical Society
Beverly, 
OH, 
45715
Location: Located at the town of Beverly, 23.1 miles from the mouth of the Muskingum River. Off Rt 60 in the town of Beverly Look for Brown and White signs for “Beverly Lock and Dam #4”.
Latitude: 39.5479080
Longitude: -81.6427970