The Africatown Heritage House in Mobile has been named one of the six best museums in the United States for 2023 by National Geographic, spotlighting a community founded by the survivors of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in America.
The museum is slated to open on July 8 and will welcome visitors Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its new exhibition will detail the stories of the 110 African men, women, and children brought to Mobile aboard the Clotilda.
A collaborative effort to honor resilience
“The History Museum of Mobile has developed this exhibition in close collaboration with community partners in Africatown and with the descendant community, both local and national,” said Dr. Meg McCrummen Fowler, Director of the History Museum of Mobile.
“Now, as an international community anticipates the exhibit’s opening, we remain focused on sharing the stories of the 110 men, women, and children and of Africatown in a way that honors their perseverance and resilience,” Fowler added.
The Clotilda arrived near Mobile Bay in 1860, decades after the international slave trade was outlawed. Its survivors established the Africatown community north of downtown Mobile, and the ship’s wreck was confirmed in the Mobile River in 2019, energizing preservation and heritage tourism efforts across the region.
The National Geographic recognition places Africatown Heritage House alongside other top museum destinations across the country, further elevating Mobile’s role in telling the story of the Clotilda and its descendants.