Africatown was founded in 1860 by 32 West African slaves brought over on the slave ship Clotilda as part of the last known illegal shipment of slaves to the United States. The Atlantic slave trade had been banned since 1808, but 110 enslaved people held by the Kingdom of Dahomey were smuggled into Mobile on the Clotilda, which was burned and scuttled to try to conceal its illicit cargo. The remains of the Clotildawere found in the Mobile River in 2018. Approximately 2,000 people live in Africatown, including descendants of slaves from the Clotilda. Africatown is now a historic district and is listed on the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail and the National Register of Historic Places.