3 months ago
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MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The Alabama Historical Commission has released potential preservation plans for the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved people into the U.S. in 1860.
The Phase III report recommends a plan of in-place preservation for the Clotilda. This comes after the investigation found major issues with the wreckage, including corrosion, wood damage and other physical problems due to severe weather, vandalism and floating objects.
The in-place preservation is also said to be the least damaging choice for the ship, involving a process of recovering exposed pieces of the wreck with sediment to create a near-zero oxygen environment. This is because of a high risk of deterioration if the Clotilda is excavated.
If the ship were pulled out of the Mobile River, it could cost at least $30 million and take decades before the Clotilda is ready for display.
Patricia Frazier, a descendant of a passenger who traveled aboard the Clotilda, believes the money should be poured into Africatown.
“I would like it to be memorialized where it is," Frazier said. "If somebody is going to offer $25 (million) to $35...
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