The Sultana Disaster Museum opens its new doors in Marion, Arkansas on Saturday, trading a former Washington Street location with less than 1,000 square feet of exhibition space for a 21,000-square-foot former high school building with roughly 9,000 square feet of exhibition space. The grand opening ceremony begins at 10 a.m., with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. and free admission for the day, with the museum staying open until 4 p.m.
According to FOX13 Memphis, the museum has moved from its former spot on Washington Street in Marion into the old Marion High School auditorium and gym. As reported by Arkansas Times, that building is a Workers Project Administration structure that opened in 1939. The address for the new location is 114 Military Road, according to the museum’s own grand opening page.
The new building includes a 14-foot replica of the Sultana and an actual 1835 steamboat engine, per the Arkansas Times report. The museum’s website describes the new location as featuring thoughtfully designed exhibits, historic artifacts, immersive storytelling, and the remarkable history of the Sultana steamboat itself.
A Disaster Mostly Forgotten
The Sultana disaster is often described as largely forgotten; the Arkansas Times calls it the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history. More than 2,000 people were aboard the Sultana as it traveled down the Mississippi River in April 1865, carrying recently released Union prisoners of war, before the boat suffered a boiler explosion. The explosion caused mass casualties. FOX13 Memphis reports more than 1,100 people died in the disaster…