MARION, Ark. — Had it been a battle during the Civil War, it would have ranked as one of the worst in terms of loss of life.
It turns out that when the steamship Sultana exploded on the night of April 27, 1865 in the Mississippi River near Chicken Island in Crittenden County it would become the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.
A group of civic and business leaders in the region have plotted for years to build a museum to commemorate the disaster, and a new effort to raise money for the project is about to get underway.
On Tuesday (April 27), the Sultana Historical Preservation Society will announce the kick-off of a $7.5 million capital campaign to fund the museum.
A press conference will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the proposed site at Briarwood and Military Road in Marion. Featured speaker Gov. Asa Hutchinson plans to commit the support of the state to the project.
Other special guest speakers include Kevin Kane, President of Memphis Tourism, Helena West Helena Mayor Kevin Smith and State Senator Keith Ingram.
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