Nothing takes us back in time and shows us what the world was like before we were born like a museum.
And that is exactly what the Historic Arkansas Museum gives you, a trip back in Arkansas’s history discover how pioneers lived and what we can learn (that is if history teaches us anything) from them today.
The museum as a historical site has a mission which is to effectively communicate the early history of Arkansas and its creative legacy by preserving, interpreting, and presenting stories and collections for the education and enjoyment of the people.
The museum was founded in 1939 by Pioneering preservationist Louise Loughborough who knew of the historic houses in the original city of Little Rock, including the oldest house still standing – Hinderliter House, which was believed to be the meeting place of the last territorial assembly, “The Territorial Capitol” according to Loughborough. She also described Little Rock as the “town of three Capitols” as a part of the public relations campaign for the museum.
Originally consisting of a half-block of historic houses and also known as Arkansas Territorial Restoration, the Historic Arkansas Museum is a state history museum located downtown Little Rock, Arkansas and serves as is the state’s foremost interpreter of classical Arkansas and houses the largest collection of Arkansas-made fine, mechanical and decorative arts.
If you are visiting Little Rock and wish to learn more about Arkansas’s earliest days,then take a tour through the museum’s historic grounds and visit the pre-civil war neighborhood, Hinderliter House the oldest home still standing in Little Rock and where William Woodruff printed the Arkansas Gazette. You can also explore various Arkansas made art and artifacts inside the museum including “the Bowie Knife” one of its famous artifacts.
And of course you also get the opportunity of taking home a souvenir as the Museum has a store quite a popular destination for shoppers where you can get Arkansas-made items to take home with you.
Check out the Arkansas River Trail.