The Arkansas Pioneer Association Room in the 1960s |
As early as 1912, exhibits were already being mounted at the Old State House. In its 1912-1913 Yearbook, the Arkansas Federation of Women's Clubs reported: "The Museum has been beautifully decorated and furnished and a collection of interesting and historical relics placed, among which are a number of oil portraits of men who helped make our state what it is today."
The "Museum Room" was located in the Riverfront Room, the northernmost space on the first floor's central corridor. The displays were primarily the responsibility of the Arkansas Pioneer Association. In 1915, however, the room was given to the Medical Department as a chemistry laboratory. When the Pioneers refused to remove their vault, medical students broke into it and dosed the manuscripts with "bookworm poison." Dr. Morgan Smith, the Dean of the Medical Department, compensated the Pioneers for their losses and even signed up as a member.
On July 7, 1919, the Pioneers held a gala on the Old State House grounds to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Arkansas becoming a territory. At that occasion, one of the speakers advocated improving the Old State House grounds so they might serve as a de facto park for downtown Little Rock. The Pioneers took on the project, selling ice cream and soft drinks on the lawn during warm weather to raise funds for the beautification of the grounds.
The following year, the Pioneers held a Fourth of July celebration on the lawn. Throughout the 1920s, they continued to stage events to attract the public to the Old State House. These included fiddlers' contests, spelling bees, shape-note singing schools, and birthday parties for noted figures in Arkansas history.
Initially, the Arkansas Pioneer Association Room sported a highly eclectic range of objects. Over time, they pared it down to bring it into line with the other Period Rooms. Today, it represents a library in the home of a prosperous family in the 1840s or 1850s. Family members could take care of business at the desk, but they would also gather in more casual groups as well. Reading, sewing, and playing music and games were all favorite pastimes—as the books, sewing table, melodeon, and game table illustrate.
The Arkansas Pioneer Association Room today |
The blanket chest in the center of the room was made of sycamore in 1830. The maker also fashioned a small box in the center of the chest to hold camphor balls to keep away bugs.
The traveling melodeon in the corner was made of rosewood. With its small size and folding legs, it could easily be moved to provide entertainment in other parts of the house or at other locations.
The secretary has bleached, white muslin inside the glass doors to protect valuable books from light.
The cane-bottom chair along the side of the room is from 1821 and is made of birch in the shaker style.
The Audubon prints in the corner date from 1828. The prints, the desk beneath them, and the items on the desk, belonged to the Marks family. The family owned the Marks Plantation, also known as Mark's Mill, ten miles southeast of Fordyce in Cleveland County. The lock and key are from the Marks Plantation smokehouse. Both the lock and key were made on the plantation grounds. The wooden doll was made by slaves.
In April of 1864, a bloody battle was fought at Marks Mill. A Union wagon train found itself surrounded by rebels. The federals gave up their wagons and tried to escape. Only about 200 Union soldiers got away. Some 1,400 were captured and then marched back across the Ouachita River and sent to prison in Tyler, Texas.
The captured Union wagons contained food and valuables that had been confiscated from Arkansans. The goods were stored at Marks Plantation until they could be reclaimed. A member of the Marks family recorded that women from all along the road for miles back toward Camden came on horseback to identify their belongings.
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