MOBILE, Ala. - Mobile County, the city of Mobile and the Alabama Historical Commission say work will begin “immediately” on an Africatown Heritage House that will feature artifacts from the slave ship Clotilda.

The plan for the facility was announced Tuesday (March 10) by the Alabama Historical Commission, which said the History Museum of Mobile also will play a major role in developing “Clotilda: The Exhibition.”

The Clotilda is believed to be the last ship to bring a cargo of captive Africans into slavery in the United States, shortly before the start of the Civil War. Stranded after the war, some of them went on to found Africatown, a community where they preserved their language and folkways for decades.

In early 2019, researchers announced that they had confirmed a shipwreck upriver from Mobile to be the remains of the Clotilda, which was scuttled and burned after its last voyage. What’s left is buried in mud under water in what has been described as a bayou near Twelve Mile Island. While the discovery has fueled excitement about preservation and display of the hull and any artifacts it might contain, researchers have said further study of the site will be needed before any excavation can be undertaken.

The new Africatown Heritage House will be the first facility to serve as a focal point for interest in the ship among area residents and tourists. It is separate from a previously announced Africatown Welcome Center to be funded by RESTORE Act money stemming from Deepwater Horizon Disaster penalties.

Mobile City Council President Levon Manzie said there was an agreement for the city and the county to split the approximate $600,000 cost of the Heritage House.

“This is the brainchild of County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood,” said Manzie. He said Ludgood had approached himself and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson about the idea.

Manzie said details about where the city’s share of the funding will come from have yet to be finalized, but he said he was hopeful a funding measure would come before the council in the near future.

The County Commission, likewise, has not yet approved a specific funding measure but has had discussions, a spokesperson said. Tuesday’s statement from the Alabama Historical Commission quoted Ludgood as saying that it was “so gratifying to see federal, state, and local governments and private industry come together to bring another major asset to the Africatown community. Collaborations like these ensure that we will be able to honour and preserve the memory and legacy of the Clotilda and her descendants for generations to come.”

“Through this exhibit and collaborative effort, everyone will have the opportunity to experience the moving story of the Clotilda and its survivors,” said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the Alabama Historical Commission. “This exhibit will bring the tragedy of slavery into focus while witnessing the triumph and resilience of the human spirit in overcoming a horrific crime.”

According to Tuesday’s announcement, “Clotilda: The Exhibition” will draw on archaeological reports released by the Alabama Historical Commission. “The Exhibition tells the stories of the Clotilda and Africatown in the context of slavery and maritime shipping along the Gulf Coast,” it said. “It includes the histories of the final journey of the Clotilda, the settlement and history of Africatown, and the discovery of the sunken schooner, all through a combination of interpretive text panels, documents, and artifacts.”

“Our priority is ensuring that the citizens of Africatown get the full benefit of this exhibition,” said Meg McCrummen Fowler, director of the History Museum of Mobile. “The History Museum of Mobile is honoured to be offering our staff’s enormous experience with archeology, anthropology, and public history. Ultimately, though, this exhibition is about Africatown telling Africatown’s story.”

Tuesday’s announcement said the Historical Commission will contribute “more than a dozen artifacts from the Clotilda” but provided no additional detail. The Africatown Heritage House is to be built adjacent to the Robert Hope Community Center and is tentatively expected to open in fall 2020.

Plans call for admission to be free to Mobile County residents, with admission fees from other visitors to be “reinvested to support operations at the site.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2020