The Sultana Disaster Museum has moved into a former Marion school building, giving the museum a permanent home in the Arkansas community closest to the site of the 1865 steamboat disaster.
The museum previewed its new location Thursday in the old Marion School Gymnasium and Auditorium. The relocation has been years in the making and has brought a new use to the former school facility, where the museum will present the history of the Sultana and the people affected by its sinking.
A disaster near the Arkansas bank
The Sultana disaster occurred in 1865, when an overcrowded steamboat exploded and eventually sank in the Mississippi River near the Arkansas banks. The disaster is described as the worst maritime disaster in American history, although it has received less public attention than the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, which occurred about a week before the sinking.
The museum’s move places that history in Marion, a city whose location and community connections are central to its interpretation. Jeff Kollath, executive director of the Sultana Disaster Museum, said residents have maintained a connection to the story and have welcomed the museum’s arrival.
“We’re the closest large city to it, but also there a number of people who live here in the community that have lived in the community their entire lives who have a familiar connection to the story, and really I think this is something the whole town I think takes a lot of pride in, and they’re excited that we’re here and we’re going to be part of the larger business community. Hopefully folks from all over the world come see us and go visit all the other shops and restaurants too,” — Jeff Kollath, executive director of the Sultana Disaster Museum.
Opening in the new location
The museum announced two immediate steps connected to the move:
- Friday, Nov. 13: Descendants of people who died in the disaster are scheduled to receive a special preview of the museum.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: The museum is scheduled to open its new location to the public.
The Sultana exploded while carrying an overcrowded group of passengers in the final days of the Civil War. Its sinking occurred near the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, making Marion a place tied directly to the disaster’s geography as well as to the families and residents who have continued to remember it.
The former school gymnasium and auditorium now serve as the setting for the museum’s effort to keep that history accessible. The relocation also connects the museum’s public presentation of the disaster with a building that has long been part of Marion’s community landscape.
