Collections

Over 550,000 objects make up the museum collections. These items cover the prehistory and history of Northwest Arkansas, including Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, and Washington counties. Three-dimensional objects include Native American artifacts. The collection includes textiles, costumes, and accessories; tools and equipment. It also displays product packages and advertising media; household and recreational items; and original art. Archival materials include books, maps, documents, and scrapbooks.  Photographic images cover topics such as people, events, agriculture, industry, buildings, and railroads. Altogether these items tell the story the regional history of the area.

Shelves of museum items in our archives.

Over 550,000 objects make up the museum collections, covering the prehistory and history of Northwest Arkansas, including Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, and Washington counties. Three-dimensional objects include Native American artifacts; textiles, costumes, and accessories; tools and equipment; product packages and advertising media; household and recreational items; and original art. Archival materials include books, maps, documents, and scrapbooks.  Photographic images cover topics such as area people, events, agriculture, industry, buildings, and railroads.

Seven historic buildings are part of the museum’s collections: Ritter-McDonald Log Cabin (1850s), Shiloh Meeting Hall (1871), Searcy House (1870s), Steele General Store (1870s), Dr. Carter’s Office (1880s), Cooper Barn (1930s), and Cartmell Outhouse (1930s). The Searcy House and Shiloh Meeting Hall sit on their original sites. The other buildings were moved from nearby locations. The research collection consists of 45 file drawers of clippings, pamphlets, and papers, as well as books, letters, newspapers, directories, maps, and ephemera. The museum also has archival records documenting family histories, businesses, organizations, and politics. Furthermore, our collection contains an oral history collection of more than 150 recorded interviews. Contact our collections manager, Carolyn Reno, for more information.

For some glimpses into our collections, visit Artifact of the Month and Photo of the Month.

Selected Collections

Local Ozark woman from the 1900s.

Berry-Braun Family Collection

Items from the family of Millard Berry (Washington County judge, 1901–1904). The collection includes clothing, jewelry, letters, artwork, photographs, and a trumpet; 1850s–1900s.

An Ozark farming family 1900s

William H. Chenault Collection

Farm and family items from the Burkett and Elzey families of Marble, (Madison County). The collection includes clothing, quilts, farm bell, and family papers; 1880s–1940s.

Journalist, teacher, historian, and folklorist Ernie Deane

Ernie Deane Collection

Papers and books relating to Arkansas topics researched by journalist, teacher, historian, and folklorist Ernie Deane (1911–1991). Subject headings (pdf)

A young boy from the Hall family.

Orville and Susan Hall Jr. Collection

Toys and games from the 1930s–1940s. This collection includes hand-painted china, clothing, and household items from the Hall family of Fayetteville.

Folk artist Essie Treat Ward

Jeanne Hoffer-Tucker Collection

Paintings by folk artist Essie Treat Ward (1902–1981) of Searcy County, Arkansas. Ward has been called the “Grandma Moses of the Ozarks.” Online exhibit

Guy Howard of Springdale, Arkansas.

Guy Howard Collection

Native American prehistoric and historic artifacts, including tools, ceramics, beads, and effigies. This was the founding collection of the Shiloh Museum. Online exhibit

The Cartmell family

Lucy Cartmell Leming Collection

This collection contains household objects, handmade tools, paper items, and an outhouse from the Cartmell family. The Cartmell’s farm was moved to the museum campus from its original location near Brentwood (Washington County); 1920s–1950s.

Barker Drugstore Pettigrew

Mooney-Barker Drugstore Collection

Retail items and business, community, and family papers from a drugstore in Pettigrew (Madison County). Pettigrew became a timber boom-town in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Emmett and Emma Morris

Morris Family Collection

Family, farm, and school papers and World War I items from the Emmett and Emma Morris family who lived in Elkins and Lincoln (Washington County).

Northwest Arkansas photo morgue 1960s

Mary Parsons Photograph Collection

Over 500,000 images of Northwest Arkansas life from the mid-1800s forward, including the 1960s–1990s photo morgues of two local newspapers. Find out more.

Searcy Family Springdale

Searcy Family Collection

Items from the Searcy family, a prominent Springdale family. The collection includes 1800s almanacs, domestic objects, textiles, tools, and family records. The Searcy House is on the museum campus.

Local residents with an older model camera.

Vaughan-Applegate Collection

Photography equipment including early studio cameras and darkroom equipment, almost every Kodak camera, lantern-slide projectors, movie cameras, and digital cameras.