Arkansas - My Family's Second Home

[suenc]

Concerning Presidential Libraries, there are about a dozen (first pic below - Source) - I'm surprised that we've been to just the Clinton Library - a LOT left to go!

NOW, before Katrina HIT the Gulf Coast, we did visit the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library at Beauvoir in Biloxi, MS on the coast - the place was severely damaged/destroyed by the hurricane, but has been rebuilt and opened a few years ago - that was a nice trip out of New Orleans - would enjoy returning to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to just see how the area has recovered - TERRIBLE damage to a lovely location. Dave
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I fervently hope there will be a Hillary library somewhere.

 

[giradman]

I fervently hope there will be a Hillary library somewhere.

Well, Susan has 'chimed in' - surprised she has not commented on the oysters or her two 'frog's leg' meals - Dave

 

[suenc]

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs is unique - a National Park as described below in the quotes - past history of gambling, speakeasies, and gangsters, such as Al Capone - in one of our stays @ the Arlington Hotel (see pics below), we were on the floor w/ a sign on a suite where Capone stayed. Oaklawn Park is still a popular seasonal horse racing event for the city - both my sisters-in-law have worked there during the racing season. Many other attractions are available, including a lake ride on the Belle or the Ducks (amphibious vehicles) and the observation tower giving spectacular views of the lakes and Ouachita Mountains.

On this visit, Susan and I decided to stay at a condo on Lake Hamilton (South Lake Shore Resort), shown below w/ a view from our deck of portions of the lake and the background mountains - beautiful scenery and warm weather for this time of the year. We enjoyed visiting our relatives and had some great food - for dinner, we ate at Fisherman's Wharf, about 5 minutes from our resort condo - we shared a dozen oysters each of three dinners (from Louisiana, a state below Arkansas) - I had three different fishes - Susan had fried frog legs and fried catfish, a local specialty! Next up our 2-night visit to Little Rock. Dave




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“... for dinner, we ate at Fisherman's Wharf, about 5 minutes from our resort condo - we shared a dozen oysters each of three dinners (from Louisiana, a state below Arkansas) - I had three different fishes - Susan had fried frog legs and fried catfish, a local specialty!”
Fresh oysters, frogs’ legs, catfish--big treats for residents of central North Carolina!

 

[giradman]

After our visit to the Clinton Library, we checked into the Capital Hotel for two nights - see first few images of the location of the hotel, across the street from the much larger and newer Marriott and the Convention Center. The Capital Hotel is an historic property opening in 1870; President Grant was an early guest - the elevator is gigantic and anecdotes that Grant wanted to bring his horse, Cincinnati to his room are stated in the hotel's website's FAQs (see several quoted below); the other theory was that the size of the elevator was to accommodate the female hoop gowns common for the time. On the map circled in blue are several other attractions that we visited the following day, along w/ Central High School, an upcoming post.

The Capital Hotel is beautifully restored as the views below show - the service was impeccable; rooms are large (we had a junior suite w/ a 25% discount) - the ceilings were at least 12 feet in height. There are two restaurants, i.e. the Bar & Grille, in which we dined at the first night - food was good but not outstanding; a live jazz trio was playing. The One Eleven at the Capital is their fancy restaurant but was closed on Sunday & Monday, so no opinion. If you need to stay in downtown Little Rock, then this hotel is highly recommended. Dave

What is the history of the hotel? One of the country's most historically significant hotels, the Capital opened in 1870, with President U.S. Grant staying as a guest not long thereafter. The hotel opened with indoor plumbing and heating and introduced the country's first "magnetic annunciator" to call room service. Over the years, the Capital was regarded as the "sweet spot" for all political announcements and served as President Bill Clinton's local headquarters during his tenure as President.

Were the elevators designed to accommodate President Grant's horse, Trigger? Of course not, Trigger was Roy Rogers' horse. Grant's was Cincinnati.

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[giradman]

Old State House of Arkansas - Original Capitol Building

Monday morning I left Susan in the hotel room (still had a cold and coughing), and walked just a block to the Old State House - this is a wonderfully restored building that was saved from destruction, thankfully. The structure was built over nearly a 10-year period (1833-1842) and in-between in 1836 the territory became a US State, the 25th one. The Building has a central taller structure and two connected wings. Numerous exhibits are within the structure representing much Arkansas history and deserving the name of a 'museum'.

Exhibits and rooms include a recreated House Chamber in 1836, a chronological hall of prominent Arkansas personalities, a Governor's exhibit, several rooms of the first Lady's inaugural gowns, a thorough discussion of the building and restoration, and many other interesting attractions. If in the city, this is a MUST visit - quotes from two different sources (first given above) & pics of the outside and inside of the Old State House - finally, an important remembrance site for the Bill Clinton family. Dave

The Old State House Museum is the original state capitol of Arkansas. Since 1833, when construction began, the building and its grounds have witnessed many of the most important events in Arkansas history. The Old State House has hosted the admission of Arkansas to the Union, a fatal knife fight between two sitting legislators, the Arkansas vote to secede from the United States and join the Confederacy, pioneering medical research into hookworm and malaria, and two acceptance speeches by the president of the United States.

The Old State House is the oldest surviving state capitol building west of the Mississippi River. It is known best as the site of President Bill Clinton's election night celebration in 1992. The Old State House was commissioned by Territorial Governor John Pope and was constructed between 1833 and 1842. Both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly moved into the building while construction was ongoing. In 1947 the General Assembly approved acts designating the Old State House as a museum. The museum front entrance was the site of President Bill Clinton's presidential campaign announcement and the site of his election night celebrations in both of his campaigns for the presidency. The building underwent major renovation in 1996 (Source).

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[giradman]

Central High School - Little Rock Nine - Racial Integration - 1957

After visiting the Old State House, I returned to pick up Susan - we lunched across the street at the Marriott Hotel, then drove to the Little Rock Central HS National Historic Site, which is near the State Capitol - as discussed in the quotes below, in September of 1957, the school gained national prominence over racial integration. President Eisenhower had to send in federal troops - see the video below, if interested.

In 1998, Congress established the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, which is across the street from the historic Mobil gas station, the 'news center' for the events that occurred. The pics below show the school, some of the many photos taken during the crisis, the visitor's center/gas station, and a few w/ the local Civil Rights activist, Daisy Bates. Next post on the Arkansas History Museum in the downtown area. Dave

P.S. Central High School is still active w/ over 2400 students in 2011 (Source above quotes) - the school is not open for touring unless scheduled. Also, "the American Institute of Architects named it “America’s Most Beautiful High School.” (Source).

The 1957 Desegregation Crisis at Central High School - Little Rock Central High School is recognized for the role it played in the desegregation of public schools in the United States. The nine African-American students' persistence in attending the formerly all-white Central High School was the most prominent national example of the implementation of the May 17, 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education (LINK Above).

Little Rock Central High School is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Central High School was the site of forced school desegregation after the US Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. This was during the period of heightened activism in the American Civil Rights Movement. Central is located at the intersection of Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (named for the civil rights leader and formerly known as 14th Street) and Park Street (Source).

On November 6, 1998, Congress established Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, which is administered in partnership with the National Park Service, Little Rock Public Schools, the City of Little Rock, and others. The Visitor Center located diagonally across the street from the school and has a captioned interpretive film on the Little Rock integration crisis, as well as multimedia exhibits on both that and the larger context of desegregation during the 20th century and the Civil Rights Movement. Opposite the Visitor Center the historic Mobil gas station, which has been preserved in its appearance at the time of the crisis; it served as the area for the press and radio and television reporters (Source).

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[scifan57]

Your posts about Little Rock are very interesting. The sites you mentioned are just what I'd visit if I ever go there.

 

[giradman]

Your posts about Little Rock are very interesting. The sites you mentioned are just what I'd visit if I ever go there.

Thanks Scifan.. - a lot of interest to see there, and more to come - also missed a number of attractions which I may just mention for anyone who may be reading this thread and plan to visit the area. Dave

 

[giradman]

Historic Arkansas Museum

After our visit to the Central HS National Historic Site, we drove back to downtown to see the Historic Arkansas Museum which is a combination of an 'inside' museum w/ permanent and changing exhibits, and preservation and restoration of a number of the city's first houses and businesses - see quotes below (all from the link); the insight of Louise Loughborough long ago was responsible for saving and restoring this historic downtown neighborhood; the entire complex only occupies a few blocks but is a treasure for the city. Pics below include outside (including an aerial view) of the museum and the buildings, along w/ several of the inside of several historic sites.

There were interesting exhibits in the main museum, for me the most interesting ones were: 1) Hugo & Gayne Preller's House of Light - photography couple who lived on a houseboat and traveled a number of Arkansas rivers/stayed in several towns, and peddled their talents; 2) We Walk in Two Worlds - a permanent exhibit about the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw Indian tribes of Arkansas from early times to today; and 3) Knife Gallery - another permanent exhibit emphasizing the Bowie knife which was made for Jim Bowie in Washington, Arkansas by blacksmith, James Black - this will be the topic of the next post. Dave

ADDENDUM: Notice the skyline changes in the two cityscape pics - amazing!

The Historic Arkansas Museum is a historic site museum of Arkansas's frontier days. Five pre-Civil War houses, on their original block, are restored to antebellum appearances, so you can learn about life pre-Civil War in Arkansas. Guided tours of the historic houses encounter actors portraying original residents, making it easy to step back in time and learn about the history of Arkansas.

The Museum invites you to come in and step back into Arkansas frontier history. Tour the museum's historic grounds and visit a pre-civil war neighborhood, including the oldest home still standing in Little Rock and the site where William Woodruff once printed the Arkansas Gazette. Interact with a living history character and see first-hand how early residents lived. Inside the Museum Center, explore Arkansas made art and artifacts in four exhibit galleries, see contemporary Arkansas art in the Trinity Gallery, and watch kids having fun in the interactive children's gallery. Shop for quilts and other contemporary crafts in the Museum Store, and see the award-winning introductory video in the theater.

In 1939, Louise Loughborough recognized the historical significance of four shabby structures in a rundown area of Arkansas's capital city. On what was originally Block 32 of the city of Little Rock, some of the state's oldest buildings still stood. The Hinderliter Grog Shop was not only the oldest building in Little Rock, but it was also possibly the meeting place of the last Territorial Legislature. At another site on the block, the founder of the Arkansas Gazette (the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi) had lived and printed the paper during the 1820s and 30s. Robert Brownlee, a stonemason who contributed to Arkansas's first state house (now known as the Old State House Museum) built one of the homes on the block, and a fourth house was associated with Arkansas's fifth Governor.

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[giradman]

Knife Gallery - Bowie Knife or Arkansas Toothpick!

Within the Historic Arkansas Museum is the Knife Gallery - see first quote below from the link. The main emphasis is on Jim Bowie (see second quote), the legendary frontiersman who was killed at the Alamo in 1836; he was a renowned 'knife fighter' and his name is given to a wide variety of LARGE knives, hence the 'Bowie Knife' - his original one was made by the blacksmith, James Black in Washington, Arkansas (now just up I-30 from Texarkana) - there is a huge collection of knives in the gallery, many of which would be described as of the Bowie style.

However, there are other older and more modern knives - this is the home of the American Bladesmith Society - see the interesting video below (narrated by the director of the museum, Bill Worthen; about 12 minutes) - the images below show various portions of the gallery, pics of Black & Bowie, and others of interest, including the modern bladesmith, Gil Hibben - finally, there is a film about Bowie called The Iron Mistress (1952) starring Alan Ladd (an Arkansas native) and Virginia Mayo - have not seen the movie in years, but love the photo w/ him and his 'modern made' Bowie knife. Dave

Knife Gallery - explore the history of Arkansas’s most famous weapon, the Bowie knife, as well as the history and art of bladesmithing. This gallery includes both historical and modern knives and is the home of the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame. Learn about the 175-year history of the Bowie knife or Arkansas Toothpick, Arkansas's most famous weapon. The exhibit includes more than 100 historical and modern knives and is the official exhibit for the American Bladesmith Society. Arkansas was on the edge of the United States in the 1830s, and when Americans thought of a "rough and tumble" place where people might even pick their teeth with big knives, they thought of Arkansas. Washington, Arkansas, was the home of James Black, a blacksmith who became well known for the knives he made. As early as 1835, the "Arkansas Toothpick" and the "Bowie Knife" were tied together as two terms used for the knives that were then popular.

James "Jim" Bowie (c. 1796 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo. Born in Kentucky, Bowie spent most of his life in Louisiana, where he was raised; his rise to fame began in 1827 on reports of the Sandbar Fight. What began as a duel between two other men deteriorated into a melée in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess with a knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife. Bowie's reputation was memorlized in the Texas Revolution. In January 1836, he arrived at the Alamo, where an illness left him bedridden. Bowie died with the other Alamo defenders on March 6 (Source).

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[scifan57]

Historic Arkansas Museum

After our visit to the Central HS National Historic Site, we drove back to downtown to see the Historic Arkansas Museum which is a combination of an 'inside' museum w/ permanent and changing exhibits, and preservation and restoration of a number of the city's first houses and businesses - see quotes below (all from the link); the insight of Louise Loughborough long ago was responsible for saving and restoring this historic downtown neighborhood; the entire complex only occupies a few blocks but is a treasure for the city. Pics below include outside (including an aerial view) of the museum and the buildings, along w/ several of the inside of several historic sites.

There were interesting exhibits in the main museum, for me the most interesting ones were: 1) Hugo & Gayne Preller's House of Light - photography couple who lived on a houseboat and traveled a number of Arkansas rivers/stayed in several towns, and peddled their talents; 2) We Walk in Two Worlds - a permanent exhibit about the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw Indian tribes of Arkansas from early times to today; and 3) Knife Gallery - another permanent exhibit emphasizing the Bowie knife which was made for Jim Bowie in Washington, Arkansas by blacksmith, James Black - this will be the topic of the next post. Dave

ADDENDUM: Notice the skyline changes in the two cityscape pics - amazing!






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Knife Gallery - Bowie Knife or Arkansas Toothpick!

Within the Historic Arkansas Museum is the Knife Gallery - see first quote below from the link. The main emphasis is on Jim Bowie (see second quote), the legendary frontiersman who was killed at the Alamo in 1836; he was a renowned 'knife fighter' and his name is given to a wide variety of LARGE knives, hence the 'Bowie Knife' - his original one was made by the blacksmith, James Black in Washington, Arkansas (now just up I-30 from Texarkana) - there is a huge collection of knives in the gallery, many of which would be described as of the Bowie style.

However, there are other older and more modern knives - this is the home of the American Bladesmith Society - see the interesting video below (narrated by the director of the museum, Bill Worthen; about 12 minutes) - the images below show various portions of the gallery, pics of Black & Bowie, and others of interest, including the modern bladesmith, Gil Hibben - finally, there is a film about Bowie called The Iron Mistress (1952) starring Alan Ladd (an Arkansas native) and Virginia Mayo - have not seen the movie in years, but love the photo w/ him and his 'modern made' Bowie knife. Dave

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Thanks for the fascinating look into Arkansas history.

 

[giradman]

Thanks for the fascinating look into Arkansas history.

Yep - thought that you might like the Knife & Jim Bowie discussion - fascinating state that is likely under-appreciated. Dave

 

[scifan57]

Yep - thought that you might like the Knife & Jim Bowie discussion - fascinating state that is likely under-appreciated. Dave

I've seen the Jim Bowie exhibit at the Alamo. I believe one of his knives was on display.

 

[giradman]

Attractions Missed in Little Rock - Maybe Next Time?

There are many other attractions in Little Rock and the environs, but two missed that I wanted to see are the Governor's Mansion, which opened in 1950 - before that time there was not a permanent residence for the Governor and his family. Tours can be arranged which we wanted to do but just not enough time. My sister-in-law in Hot Springs worked for a state college and in that position was been invited to the mansion many times - just 2 pics below.

Another one missed (closed on Mondays) was the Arkansas Arts Center - the museum contains both permanent and many traveling exhibits - just 2 pics added - SO, for those reading the thread who may be visiting Little Rock, these places might be interest. Dave
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[giradman]

I've seen the Jim Bowie exhibit at the Alamo. I believe one of his knives was on display.

Every time I've been to San Antonio (probably a half dozen), I've visit the Alamo each time - Dave

P.S. well the last few posts have ended our recent visit to Little Rock, BUT I've been to Arkansas over many decades and have many other experiences, so might just add additional comments.