SILSBEE, Texas — It's been one week since 12News told you about the discovery of a mysterious shipwreck found in the Neches River.
This exceptional drought has led to low water levels, but a silver-lining is that these conditions have revealed pieces of the past like this lost ship.
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The incredible find is gaining nationwide attention and now the Texas Historical Commission is answering key questions. They've confirmed that the ship dates back to World War I.
Historians across the country are wondering how it got to the bottom of the Neches?
Bill Milner discovered the shipwreck at the bottom of the Neches last week.
"I wasn't sure of what it was, but I could tell it was a very large vessel," said Milner.
Wooden ships like this one were made in Beaumont during World War I.
"The reason they had to build the wooden ships was because they always had metal shortages," Milner told 12News.
The Texas Historical Commission, along with Milner and Ice House Museum Curator Susan Kilcrease, found coordinates that dated this discovery to a known wreck in the Historical Commissions' database.
"Using coordinates she was able to tie it into their system, and discover that they did know those wrecks. That they had actually investigated those wrecks earlier. So they were World War I vessels that were made of wood, and were just useless at the end of the war," said Kilcrease.
Experts at the Tyrell Historical Library looked through their archives to help answer some unknown questions about the ship.
Pictures of similar ships that would go up and down the Neches River were found.
"100 of them, or 10%, of all these ships were built right here in the Port of Beaumont," Kilcrease told 12News.
This bit of Southeast Texas history has become so big that the Ice House Museum in Silsbee is getting visitors from all over the country.
"We had visitors even all the way from Seattle, Washington to come see us. This has really put Silsbee on the map," said Kilcrease.
The Historical Commission is planning a trip to Silsbee this fall to inspect the ship. They will be also searching the Neches River, looking for other pieces of hidden history that might be under the waters.