The Old State House Becomes a Museum

Docents in costume, 1951
From the collection of the Old State House Museum

Between the Great Depression and World War II active interest in preserving and restoring the Old State House waned. The poor state of the old capitol put it at risk of sale. In 1944, Governor Ben T. Laney announced a goal to restore the Old State House and appointed a committee to raise money to restore the structure. The United States victory in World War II reinvigorated the historic preservation movement. Once again, women came to the forefront in the drive to preserve the Old State House. Mrs. Loughborough and Mrs. Agnes Loewer, a woman distinguished by her membership in virtually every patriotic association in the state, knew how the legislature operated. Using letter-writing campaigns and petitions, they worked with legislators to draft a funding bill to save the structure and then lobbied to obtain its support.

Although the bill to restore the Old State House as a state archival repository and museum failed in 1945, the project gained state-wide awareness and set the stage for the next legislative session. With the backing of women's patriotic societies and men's veterans groups, the bills to appropriate money for restoration and establish the Arkansas Commemorative Commission as the governing body passed unanimously in 1947.

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