Wide Open History Park #5 - Arkansas Post Museum

Visited January 17, 2021

Leaving Lake Chicot, we made the journey to Gillette, Arkansas to visit the Arkansas Post Museum. We exited the main road to the land of endless crop fields, driving until we found the open plain where the Post Museum sits.

I was excited to visit this park after reading that there were multiple buildings to visit on the site. More bang for the buck, as they say! Through its collection of documents and artifacts, visitors receive a glimpse of Arkansas history from 1877 to modern times. The mission of the Arkansas Post Museum is to engage diverse audiences in the cultural and biological heritage of the Arkansas Delta, with an emphasis on the Grand Prairie. The Arkansas Post Museum includes the Main House, Summer Kitchen, Refeld-Hinman Log House, Peterson Building and the Playhouse. However, upon our arrival to the museum, we were informed that only the Main House was open for visitors. The other buildings were closed for renovations. We were also allowed to see the gallows (probably not my favorite attraction) and were allowed to walk around the perimeter of the log house. The man working in the Main House was very nice and we enjoyed a chat with him. He lives nearby. "On the other side of that field right there," were the exact directions we were given. We told him about our adventure of seeing all the state parks this year and he informed us that he had met several people "doing that." So you know I had to let him know that we were going to do it better!! We paid for our park souvenir and candy stick treats and headed out into the sunshine to to explore.

We headed first to the gallows. Maybe I should not say "headed" since gallows are where people are hung for their crimes. Ok, bad pun. But rest assure, these gallows were actually never used for their actual purpose. The gallows were built and then donated to the museum without use. Visitors are allowed to walk up to the top of the gallows, which we did. I found the design of the drop door interesting and never thought I would see one up close, but it is just very creepy to be on top of it knowing its intentions.

Not wanting to hang around with the haunted feeling of the gallows too long, we moved on to the log house to check it out. Currently only the perimeter of the house is open and no one is allowed inside to look around. This log house was built in 1877. The house has a simple beauty and you know from its appearance that it holds a lot of stories. It was built in the dog-trot style. Dogtrot homes are characterized by the large, open breezeway that runs through the middle of the house, with two separate living areas on either side, all under one roof. The back porch of the house overlooked the expansive prairie lands where one can imagine the inhabitants of the home sitting on the porch surveying the area as far as the eye could see. Did you know the Arkansas Post Museum is at the southernmost point of the Grand Prairie in the Arkansas Delta region? Much work has been done to conserve the area and it's prairie grass. The front of the house had the view of the garden beds that most assuredly would bear nutritious rations for the family of the house. All around the house were artifacts of the days of yore such as a porch water pump, ancient tractors and tools. I did stop at the exterior house windows and took a peek inside, wishing we could actually experience the entire place. The windows gave a glimpse into a time standing still, giving a picture of how a family would live in 1877.

We took some time to look over the lands and appreciate what our state history holds and then we walked around the rest of the property. Please enjoy these pictures of the site.

I wish we had more words to share about the Post Museum. I am bummed that most of the buildings were closed off to the public during our visit. My wish is that I have introduced it to you enough that you will take a trip to see the site for yourself after the renovations are done.

Check out our Instagram, @stacyandstevendoar, for extra tid bits on other things we found on our trip to the Arkansas Post Museum as well as other parks. Our next stop is Woolley Hollow State Park in Greenbriar where we took a nice 3.5 mile stroll on the Huckleberry Trail. As always, thanks for coming along on this ride!