Tag Archives: Old State House Museum

Little Rock Look Back: Roswell Beebe Given City of Little Rock

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Map showing boundaries of original City of Little Rock

Map showing boundaries of original City of Little Rock

On September 25, 1839, businessman Roswell Beebe received title to all of the land in Little Rock.

Starting in the 1810s, there had been much dissension as to who had title to land in what would become Little Rock.  As the settlement developed into a town and city, these disagreements became greater. Often land speculators would sell land to settlers without having the right to do so.

Coming to Little Rock in 1835, Beebe was a witness to the continued uncertainty over land ownership.  In early 1839, he acquired 240 acres which had the only incontestable title in town. This acreage comprised most of Little Rock. He went to Washington DC in 1839 and, on September 25, received the original patent for the town of Little Rock, signed by President Martin Van Buren. It is recorded in the Pulaski county recorder’s office Book L, page 312.

Upon his return, Beebe gave all the people who had bought lots from a certain real estate developer, whom he considered to be fair and honest, title to their land for a dollar. In December 1839, he drew up a plan for Little Rock, laying off blocks and streets. He deeded the streets and alleys to the city for a dollar. He gave the state the title for the land on Markham Street, where the new capitol building (now the Old State House Museum) was located.  He also donated part of the land for Mount Holly Cemetery, the other portion came from his brother-in-law Chester Ashley.

Little Rock Look Back: H. L. Fletcher, LR’s 35th Mayor

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Mayor H L FletcherOn September 15, 1833, future Little Rock Mayor Henry Lewis Fletcher was born in Saline County.  His parents were Henry Lewis and Mary Lindsey Fletcher.  One of his siblings was future Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher.  The Fletcher brothers are the only set of siblings to serve as Mayors of Little Rock.

Though the life of John Gould Fletcher is fairly well documented, not much information is out there on his brother Henry Lewis (and some of what is out there is incorrect).  He married Susan Bricelin August 30, 1855, in Pulaski County.  During the Civil War, he served as a sergeant in the cavalry for the Confederate Army in Captain Ed Nowland’s Company.

As a civic leader, Fletcher oversaw Arkansas’ contribution to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. The building received as a prize a cast-iron fountain still standing in front of the Old State House Museum.

Fletcher served as Mayor of Little Rock from 1891 to 1893.  When Fletcher became Mayor he appointed a new Police Chief (as most Mayors did) and the entire police force was dismissed.  A new police force was hired by E. H. Sanders, who served as chief for 18 months.  Upon his resignation, Frank MacMahon (who had been dismissed from the force when Fletcher came to office), was appointed Chief by Mayor Fletcher.  He would serve from 1892 until 1905.

Mayor Fletcher died on June 30, 1896 and is buried at Oakland Cemetery next to his wife (who died in 1911).

September 2nd Friday Art Night Highlights

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Among the locations participating in 2nd Friday Art Night tonight are Historic Arkansas Museum, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Old State House Museum, and Museum of Discovery.

Historic Arkansas Museum
5 – 8 pm

Free
Live music by Finger Food

Jack Kenner and Ed Pennebaker: Disciplined Inspiration

Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists
September 12 through November 9, 2014 
Jack Kenner of Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas, spent much of his professional life traveling the world as an accomplished commercial and art photographer, but it was the Horseshoe Lake landscapes of the Arkansas Delta that inspired the body of work he will exhibit at the Historic Arkansas Museum. “While traveling the 30 miles back and forth to my studio in Memphis, I found I could not pass by the beautiful scenes of the farmlands and lake without seeing it through my camera lens.”
Ed Pennebaker who resides near Osage, Arkansas, makes illuminated art glass and sculpture using traditional offhand glassblowing techniques, and he believes in “working incessantly—cultivating concepts, discrimination and technique.” Pennebaker works with the glass to show its fluid qualities and its interaction with light. “I derive much of my inspiration from the garden and the woods surrounding my home and studio.” Pennebaker has worked from his woodland studio, Red Fern Glass, near Osage for more than 20 years.

40 Years of the Arkansas Times

Second Floor Gallery
September 12 through December 9, 2014
From a spunky monthly launched with $200 to one of the earliest alternative weeklies, the Arkansas Times has been an essential voice in Arkansas news and culture since 1974.
Take a look back at the last 40 years of Arkansas history through the often-irreverent lens of the Times in a collection of archival covers, photos, art and memorabilia.
Butler Center Galleries

ALA art Show: Fifth Annual Juried Exhibition of the Arkansas League of Artists 

This exhibition features artwork by members of the Arkansas League of Artists (ALA) in a variety of media. This is the ALA’s fifth annual juried exhibition; Manuela Well-Off-Man, assistant curator of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, is the juror for this year’s show. The winner will be announced at the show’s opening reception as part of Second Friday Art Night.

Echoes of the Ancestors: Native American Objects from the University of Arkansas Museum

This exhibition features an artistic display of objects created by Native Americans in ceramics, wood, glass, cane, and shell materials.

Featured artist:

Walt Priest – Walt Priest is a photographer based in North Little Rock.

Featured musician: Ted Ludwig Duo – Entertainment in the galleries will be provided by the Ted Ludwig Duo, who will play traditional jazz and innovative improvisational music.

 

Old State House Museum

Music by Big Silver headlines September’s Second Friday Art Night on Friday, September 12, as part of Second Friday Art Night. The acclaimed Little Rock band will be playing on the lawn of the museum starting at 5:30 pm. Bring your picnic blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the music and mid-September weather. Big Silver can be heard here.In case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved inside. Food and drinks will be provided for this free event.

 

Museum of Discovery

The Museum of Discovery is excited to participate in this month’s 2nd Friday Art Night on Friday, September 12 from 5-8 p.m. They will display nature photographs taken by David Ankeny. The exhibit will remain on display at the Museum of Discovery this fall.

Free drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Last Week to see First Ladies Gowns

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OSH GownsThe Old State House Museum’s First Ladies’ Gown collection, which contains over 120 years of inaugural gowns worn by Arkansas’s First Ladies, will temporarily close to the public on September 8, 2014, so the gowns can be assessed for conservation needs. The last day to see the collection before the assessment is September 7, 2014.

“The Arkansas First Ladies Gowns at the Old State House Museum are, through the years, our most popular artifacts,” said Bill Gatewood, director of the Old State House Museum. ”Our responsibility to preserve the gowns yet make them accessible to the public creates a very challenging situation.  The Museum staff’s decision to begin conservation of the gowns exhibit must balance both considerations.”

During routine assessments this summer, Old State House Museum staff began noticing deterioration of many gowns. Two gowns were immediately removed from display for conservation, and internal discussion began about the futures of every gown. The decision was made to quickly move to have the gowns assessed.

“During a routine survey of artifacts on exhibit I noticed signs of stress on certain gowns in our First Ladies gowns exhibit,” said Jo Ellen Maack, curator at the Old State House Museum. “Upon closer inspection I determined a conservator specializing in textiles should examine the collection. My goal is to create a prioritized list of conservation needs for gowns in the exhibit. Once these needs have been identified, treatment will begin. The challenge is to do this while keeping as much of the exhibit as possible open to the public.”

The assessment will take place at the Old State House Museum beginning September 8 and the exhibit will be closed during this process. The collection will be examined by Textile Conservation Services and handled by Harold Mailand, who first examined the gowns in 1983. Mailand will examine the condition of each gown and work with the professional staff at the Old State House Museum to create a preservation strategy, and may include immediate removal of some gowns from display. The exhibit will then re-open. At a later date, more gowns may be removed from exhibit at the Old State House Museum to an off-site location to make changes in casework and lighting in the exhibit. The exhibit would be closed for several months if the Museum feels it necessary to make those upgrades..

“Even though the physical gowns may not be on permanent display at the Old State House Museum, we’re committed to providing access to information, photos and educational programs about the gowns through the Web, our publications, and any emerging media that becomes available” Gatewood said.

The First Ladies’ Gowns collection was the first exhibit to showcase Arkansas history at the Old State House Museum, debuting in 1955. The oldest gown in the collection is from 1889 and belonged to Mary Kavanaugh Oldham Eagle, the wife of Arkansas’s 16th Governor James Philip Eagle. The collection contains 30 inaugural dresses, including four from former Arkansas First Lady and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Currently, visitors to the Museum are able to view all 30 gowns, minus the two removed earlier this year, belonging to Elizabeth Little and Ewilda Robinson. After the assessment, the ability for visitors to view all the gowns at once may change.

The First Ladies’ Gowns collection is just one of many collections the Old State House Museum is tasked with maintaining and preserving. Other textile collections curated by the Museum include Civil War flags and quilts sewn by black Arkansans.  The Old State House Museum will provide updates about the gowns on social media including Facebook, Twitter and e-mail lists.

About the Old State House Museum

The Old State House Museum is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and shares the goal of all seven Department of Arkansas Heritage agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas. The agencies are Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and the Old State House Museum.

It takes Different Spokes at the Old State House

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spokes-small-wideDifferent Spokes is the newest exhibit at the Old State House Museum. The exhibit looks at the history of bicycling and places cycling in Arkansas within a worldwide historical context. Visitors will be able to view galleries of artifacts, historical pictures and video to learn the history of bicycles.

As cities and towns begin dedicated services and trails for cyclists, it’s important to note that the enthusiasm for bikes in Arkansas has roots that go back over 100 years,” said Old State House Museum Director Bill Gatewood. “The interest at the turn of the 20th century in bicycles was very similar to the one that we are seeing at the turn of the 21st century.”

While the exhibit mainly explores the technological advances of cycling in the past 130 years, Different Spokes also tells the story of competition, economics, and social life. The history of trail systems, cycling communities and history in Arkansas is explored in videos produced by the Old State House Museum. From an 1880 wooden bicycle built from white oak and agricultural implements to the world’s first carbon-fiber bicycles made by Brent Trimble of Berryville, Different Spokes contains artifacts that show this history from past to present. Gatewood says the Museum relied on contributions from the cycling community to present this story. The exhibit will remain on view to February 2016.

“I have not participated in any other exhibit that has had this kind of immediate response from the community,” Gatewood said. “The passion these people have for their pursuit is overwhelming, and I believe it will be reflected well in this exhibit.”

The Old State  House Museum is a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Graham Gordy discusses the film and TV industry at Old State House Brown Bag lecture today at 12 noon

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Photo by Nancy Nolan

Photo by Nancy Nolan

The Old State House offers regular noontime lectures on a variety of topics.  These “Brown Bag Lectures” take place at 12 noon.  The next one is today.

Graham Gordy, the award-winning Arkansan writer, will discuss how the film and television industry have changed after the Recession.

Gordy’s discussion is in conjunction with the Old State House’s “Lights! Camera! Arkansas!” exhibit which is currently on display.  It focuses on connections between Arkansas and Hollywood.

Gordy’s credits include include the current series “Rectify” the upcoming movie Quarry as well as the films War Eagle, Arkansas and The Love Guru.  As an actor, he has appeared in “Rectify,” My Dog Skip and The Last Ride.  As a youth, he also appeared on various stages in Central Arkansas.

Celebrate Arkansas’ Quest for Statehood at Old State House and Historic Arkansas Museum today

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OSH logohamlogoTomorrow is Arkansas’ 178th birthday.  Two state museums are helping people get in the mood by giving them a one day head-start on festivities.

The Old State House Museum and Historic Arkansas Museum are partnering to mark Arkansas’s 178th birthday with the annual Arkansas Statehood celebration, The Quest for Statehood, on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors will be given a chance to view and participate in a living history of  1836 Arkansas. Costumed interpreters will transform The Old State House and Historic Arkansas Museum to portray Arkansas as it was 178 years ago.

Several games and activities will be offered, including a large-scale game of commerce and trade that will provide an immersive experience. Living historians will portray the townspeople of 1836. These include a tavern keeper, phrenologist, carpenter, shop keeper, owner of a ladies’ emporium, silhouette artist and more.

The Old State House Museum and Historic Arkansas Museum are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.