Collections
Nearly 600,000 objects and photographs make up the museum collections. These items cover the prehistory and history of the Arkansas Ozarks, including Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, and Washington counties. Three-dimensional objects include Native American artifacts, textiles, costumes, accessories, tools, and equipment. It also contains 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.
Nearly 600,000 objects make up the museum collections, covering the prehistory and history of the Arkansas Ozarks, including Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, and Washington counties. Three-dimensional objects include Native American artifacts, textiles, costumes, accessories, tools, and equipment. It also includes 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), Smith-Searcy House (1870s), Steele General Store (1870s), Dr. Carter’s Office (1880s), Cooper Barn (1930s), and Cartmell Outhouse (1930s). The Smith-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 curator, Stephanie Carter, for more information.
For some glimpses into our collections, visit Artifact of the Month and Photo of the Month.
Selected Collections
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.
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.
Ernie Deane Collection
Papers and books relating to Arkansas topics researched by journalist, teacher, historian, and folklorist Ernie Deane (1911–1991). Subject headings (pdf)
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.
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
Cyrus Dean Young Collection
Posters, flyers, restaurant items, and miscellaneous from businesses and events on Dickson Street in Fayetteville from the 1990s to 2003.
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.
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.
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).
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 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.
Vaughan-Applegate Collection
Photography equipment including early studio cameras and darkroom equipment, almost every Kodak camera, lantern-slide projectors, movie cameras, and digital cameras.