A Harper's Weekly depiction of the April 1865 disaster in the Mississippi River (Library of Congress)

“The escalation in cost of exhibit fabrication is the major issue. There have also been change orders that were required but were unanticipated due to working on a building as old as the gym was,” said John Fogleman, president of the Sultana Historical Preservation Society.

Crews are building a more robust Sultana Disaster Museum than the current small location a few blocks away. It will be housed in the gymnasium of an old high school, with a couple additions.

Officials originally hoped the new site would open in April 2025, in conjunction with the 160^th anniversary of the Civil War maritime tragedy. That was not feasible and the timeline shifted to April 2026. Now the board of society has decided to push back the opening several months, into the fall, though no new date has been set.

Acclaimed Sultana historian and author Jerry Potter, a member of the board, said construction cost overruns also were cited in a July meeting. “We are seeking additional funding,” said Potter, adding he is “very confident” in the project’s outlook.

“We need to raise about $1 (million) to1.5 million. We will use every tool available to us to try and achieve our goal, including fundraising events, grants and direct donation requests,” Fogleman wrote the Picket on Aug. 20.

The museum is currently housed in small building a couple blocks away

About 1,200 passengers and crew perished. Hundreds of Federal soldiers, many recently freed from Confederate prisons, including Andersonville and Cahaba, were on their way home.

In mid-2024, the Sultana Historical Preservation Society brought on Jeff Kollath, former longtime executive director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in nearb y Memphis, Tenn., as executive director.

Kollath sent an email recently to the founder of the Sultana Association of Descendants and Friends, explaining the new outlook.

“We have had some additional delays in getting the building completed, yes, but also we've had a funding opportunity come along that we will not know about until later this year,” wrote Kollath, according to a post on the group’s Facebook page. “If received, it would provide a significant influx of resources into the project and allow us to build the museum we all want with the bells, whistles and whatnot. While we are dismayed that we will not open on schedule, it gives us time to acquire the funding we need.”

The attraction will be housed in the town's old high school gym (Sultana Disaster Museum)

Norman Shaw of the descendants group told the Picket he predicted between 200 and 250 people would have come to Marion in April 2026 for their annual meeting.

“We were making plans for a special two-day 2026 Sultana reunion to be held the same weekend in Marion as the museum's opening in April 2026, but not to conflict with any plans being made by the museum's staff. The 2026 Sultana reunion has now been postponed to coincide with the weekend of the opening of the new museum in the fall of 2026, whenever that date is decided,” Shaw wrote.

He said he believes most members of the group are disappointed by the additional delay. But they likely believe they “can certainly wait another six months.”