Current design for front of museum (Courtesy Sultana Disaster Museum) |
The contract with
Zellner Construction of nearby Memphis, Tenn., involves renovating the
1939 high school gymnasium to repurpose it as a museum and to build an addition
to the front of the museum for an auditorium and entry.
“We are
elated we have finally signed a construction contract,” said John Fogleman,
president of the Sultana Historical Preservation Society, which is leading the
effort. “There were many who doubted that a new Sultana Disaster Museum would
ever be built.”
Fogleman said
he expects construction to perhaps begin in March, after anticipated approval
by government agencies. Officials hope the new site will open in mid-2025,
ideally around the time of the 160th anniversary of the tragedy.
“We selected
Zellner because of their excellent reputation, their course of work in the past
with our architects and the fact they were the low bidder (of five),” he wrote
in an email on Wednesday.
The exhibits will be bid separately. None have been as yet designed.
The overcrowded Sultana just hours before the explosion (Library of Congress) |
“Since the
boilers were the main cause of the destruction of the Sultana, we are hoping to have a
display on how the boilers worked and what went wrong,” he said, describing the
overall museum experience as immersive. “We have tons of information and a great
number of artifacts to put into each display
“We are
hoping to walk people through the entire war/experience of the Sultana. People will walk through a
section about the importance of the Mississippi in American history and the
Civil War. We will have a display on soldiers in the war, on prisoners and on
the prisoner exchange. The history of the Sultana will cover
its construction, it's early life, it's importance of spreading the word of
Lincoln's assassination, and then the overcrowding, the explosion, the rescues
and the reunions.”
The disaster is currently remembered at a small museum a few blocks from the future site. Dreams for a larger facility germinated many years ago.
The city, close to where the side-wheeler Sultana exploded and caught fire in the Mississippi River, broke ground in 2022 for a museum that will honor soldiers who died in the disaster and residents who helped save others who were plunged into the river in late April 1865.Carved comb made by Union POW in a Confederate prison (Gene Salecker) |
Museum officials say the exhibits will build off the full story of the
Sultana with information about the importance of the river, the Confederate
prisoner of war camps at Cahaba and Andersonville, the bribery and corruption
that led to the overcrowding of the side-wheel steamboat, the explosion and
fire, and the creation of the Sultana Survivors Association.
Fogleman and others have raised thus far donations, grants and pledges
totaling $10.369 million. “We are still seeking money,” he said. The city of
Marion has helped with fund-raising, including revenue from the Advertising and
Promotion Committee to fund operating costs.
The society’s board added three new members, according to Fogleman, with the aim of having younger representatives and more women. They bring social media, marketing, banking and other skills, he said.
The story of the Sultana runs deep in the blood of two
members of the Sultana society.
Fogleman’s great-grandfather, John Fogleman, after lashing
two or three logs together, poled his way through the current of the Mississippi
River and toward survivors. He plucked dozens of people -- mostly
Federal soldiers -- from the chilly river. It’s possible his sons Leroy and
Gustavus assisted.
Franklin Barton and LeRoy and Gustavus Fogleman (Courtesy of John Fogleman) |
Frank Barton, treasurer of the Sultana Historical Society,
told the Picket on Wednesday he is glad the Sultana story will “finally have a permanent
venue that is befitting of this historical event and will honor those men and
women that were aboard the Sultana that fateful night in April of 1865. Part of
the Sultana story is how this country forgot those individuals and this new
museum will be another step in correcting that part of the Sultana disaster
story.”
This article will be updated
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