Sultana Disaster Museum Opens November 14 in Marion, Arkansas, Telling the Story of the 1865 Mississippi Steamboat Explosion
The Sultana Disaster Museum opens on November 14 in Marion, Arkansas, dedicated to the story of the Civil War-era steamboat Sultana.
The Sultana, a paddle-wheel steamboat, exploded and burned on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, and sank near Marion. Of the more than 2,200 passengers and crew aboard, nearly 1,200 were killed. The event is described in reporting as the most devastating maritime disaster in American history.
The museum's exhibition space covers 9,000 square feet inside a 21,000-square-foot building, a Works Progress Administration-built structure that housed the old Marion High School gymnasium and auditorium. The project was launched more than a decade ago, broke ground in 2022 and began construction in 2024, at a cost of around 11 million dollars, with contributions from FedEx, Hartford Steam Boiler, the state of Arkansas and 400 donors.
Jeff Kollath, the longtime executive director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, heads the new museum. It is located at 114 Military Road in Marion and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is 15 dollars for adults, 12 dollars for seniors and students, and free for children aged five and under.
Source: Sultana Disaster Museum
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：1865年载满乘客的明轮蒸汽船苏尔塔纳号，船身可见 SULTANA 字样（1865年锡版照片）。来源：Thomas W. Bankes，公共领域，维基共享资源。 / Photo: The paddle-wheel steamboat Sultana crowded with passengers in 1865 (tintype). Credit: Thomas W. Bankes, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
