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Arkansas State University Heritage Sites
Lakeport Plantation, Lake Village, AR: The Lakeport Plantation house is the only remaining Arkansas plantation home on the Mississippi River and still retains many of its original finishes and architectural details. Today you can tour it, thanks to a gift in 2001 to Arkansas State University from the Sam Epstein Angel family. Restored as a museum, the site researches and interprets the people and cultures that shaped plantation life in the Mississippi River Delta, focusing on the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods.
Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash, Dyess, AR: The Dyess Colony was created in 1934 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal to aid in the nation’s economic recovery from the Great Depression. As a federal agricultural resettlement community, it provided a fresh start for nearly 500 impoverished Arkansas farm families, including the family of music legend Johnny Cash. The Colony has been resurrected through restoration of several historic buildings, including the Dyess Colony Administration Building, the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, and the re-created Theatre (now a Visitors Center).
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, Piggott, Arkansas: This site includes a barn studio associated with Ernest Hemingway and the family home of his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. Pauline’s parents, Paul and Mary Pfeiffer, were prominent citizens of Northeast Arkansas and owned more than 60,000 acres of land. During the 1930s the barn was converted to a studio to give Hemingway privacy for writing while visiting Piggott. Portions of one of his most famous novels, A Farewell to Arms, and several short stories were written in this studio. Both the home and the barn studio were named to the National Historic Register in 1982. The properties have been renovated, focusing on the 1930s era. Areas of emphasis for the Museum and Educational Center include literature of the period, 1930s world events, agriculture, family lifestyles and relationships, and development of Northeast Arkansas during the Depression and New Deal eras.
Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Tyronza, AR: During the 1930s, this building housed the dry cleaning business of H. L. Mitchell and the service station of Clay East, two organizers of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union in 1934. Their building served as the unofficial headquarters for the union until offices were moved to Memphis for safety. The Museum also includes the adjacent historic Tyronza Bank building. The restored site focuses on the farm labor movement in the South and the tenant farming and sharecropping system of agriculture.
Affiliate Sites
Arkansas State University Museum: Located on the Jonesboro campus, the Arkansas State University Museum serves both the university and the general public and provides opportunities for lifelong learning. The museum focuses on the natural history and cultural heritage of Northeast Arkansas and the Mississippi River Delta region. Part of the Arkansas Discovery Network, it is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center, Rohwer, AR: Between 1942 and 1945, up to 8,000 Japanese Americans were interned at Rohwer—a 500-acre camp surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Today all that remains is a cemetery and the smokestack from the camp’s hospital. Though most physical evidence has been wiped from the landscape, important stories remain to be shared. The Arkansas State University Heritage Sites office has installed interpretive exhibits along the gravel road adjacent to the cemetery.
Arkansas Resources
Arkansas Delta Byways: This website provides information on attractions, restaurants, lodging, and shopping in the 15-county Eastern Arkansas region known as Arkansas Delta Byways. The region features two National Scenic Byways: Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Arkansas segment of the ten-state Great River Road.
Arkansas–The Natural State: Information on attractions, festivals and events throughout Arkansas can be found on this official website of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission: Hunting and fishing enthusiasts will find information here on licenses and permits, hunting seasons, and boating information. The Game and Fish Commission also operates education and nature centers around the state.
Department of Arkansas Heritage: This department’s mission is to identify Arkansas’s heritage and enhance the quality of life by discovering, preserving, and presenting the state’s cultural, historic and natural resources. Programs include the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Main Street Arkansas, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Delta Cultural Center, Historic Arkansas Museum, Old Statehouse Museum, and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.
Preserve Arkansas: : This is the only statewide nonprofit organization focused on preserving Arkansas’s architectural and cultural resources. The Alliance’s mission is to educate, advocate and assist preservation efforts across the state.
I Drive Arkansas: This Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department website provides information for travelers related to construction areas, live traffic conditions, and weather conditions, along with locations of Welcome Centers and rest areas.
Other Preservation and Tourism Resources
National Trust for Historic Preservation: The National Trust provides preservation information, education, and technical support to help people protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them.
The Great River Road: This ten-state route along both sides of the Mississippi River, from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, provides an opportunity for motorists to experience the natural and cultural heritage shaped by the nation’s mightiest river. Designated a National Scenic Byway, this collection of roads and highways is considered one of the best scenic drives in America.
National Scenic Byways: America’s Byways® is the umbrella term used for the collection of 150 distinct and diverse National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Eastern Arkansas contains two of these National Scenic Byways: the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Arkansas portion of The Great River Road.
