Wreck of the paddlewheeler "City of Hawkinsville" | place with historical importance, shipwreck

 place with historical importance, shipwreck

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The City of Hawkinsville was a paddle steamer constructed in Georgia in 1886. Sold in 1900 to a Tampa, Florida company, it delivered cargo and lumber along the Suwannee River. Eventually rendered obsolete by the advent of railroads in the region, it was abandoned in the middle of the Suwannee in 1922.

The wreck of the steamboat has become part of the river's ecosystem, and was added to the Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve system in 1992. Most of it is remarkably intact, and rests on a ledge in the middle of the Suwannee, able to be seen from the river's surface. However, diving is only allowed for those with advanced open water certification, and venturing within the wreck itself is not permitted.