The Sultana Disaster Museum in Marion, Arkansas
One of only two known photographs of the Sultana, located at: https://www.sultanadisastermuseum.com/existing-museum/
On April 27, 1865, the Sultana, a wooden steamboat that regularly traveled up and down the Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis, exploded and sank while traveling up the river near Marion, Arkansas.
The explosion took the lives of 1800 passengers, mostly Union army prisoners who'd been recently released and were returning home from the war. The Sultana explosion was the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history and is referred to by historians and scholars as “The Titanic of the Mississippi” and "one of the ten greatest "forgotten" events in American History."
In 2015, the small Sultana Disaster Museum opened in Marion Arkansas. Museum content and collections explore the construction of the Sultana, relevant history of the time period, people, and places, as well as what happened leading up to and after the disaster.
Teaching Tools for Discussing the Sultana Disaster:
Newspaper Clipping from the Daily Ohio Statesman. April 29, 1865. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028645/1865-04-29/ed-1/seq-6/#words=Sultana
There are many questions to explore and things to learn about this historical event. By using primary source materials, learners can study the context around the disaster and deepen their understanding of American History and Geography, learning how trade and transport worked during and after the war, who was impacted, and how the decisions of a few individuals impacted entire groups of people. The Disaster Museum has archived over 100 photos of the passengers who were aboard the Sultana when it exploded. The museum also has in-depth accounts of the soldiers, passengers, and crew who were aboard, some recounts in their own words, others in articles and investigative reports that took place in the aftermath of the tragedy. Through the Library of Congress, you can also find a historical introduction and timeline of the Sultana Disaster as well as a selection of newspaper articles from the time period that one can read through to learn how the event was discussed and reported on in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. Reviewing through multiple articles, learners can see how different states reacted to the news in different ways, the relationship between the North and South after the Civil War, and speculation surrounding how and why the Sultana Disaster occurred.
Plan Your Visit:
On the 156th anniversary of the Sultana explosion, April 27, 2021, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson declared the date to be "Sultana Disaster Remembrance Day." He also announced that the state of Arkansas would subsidize $750,000 of funding out of the governor’s discretionary funds to the fundraising efforts for a NEW museum building and increased investments into the artifacts and exhibits there. Until then, however, the original museum is still open to visitors from Thursday-Saturday from 10:00am-4:00pm and on Sundays from 2:00pm-4:00pm. Admission is free but donations suggested as 5$ for adults and 3$ for children. For additional information about any of the archives or exhibits, or to learn more about the resources offered there, you can call 870-559-6731 or email sultanadisastermuseummarion@gmail.com.
