Historical Museum News

Open house

Please put the date of Thursday, Oct. 25, on your calendar for our annual Open House at the museum. Visitors are welcome to drop by any time between 4 and 7 p.m. In addition to the opportunity to tour the museum, you may sign up for exciting door prizes and enjoy refreshments. Also, volunteer Jill Werner will be offering a taste of pawpaw (a native fruit) for every $5 donation to the museum. Volunteer Bob Fuller has been calling upon businesses in the area for door prize donations. If your business hasn't been contacted and you'd like to donate a prize, please leave a message at the museum, 479-855-2335.

Fay Jones exhibit

Our special exhibit on loan from the Old Statehouse Museum in Little Rock continues to draw visitors to the museum. It will go next to Pocahontas at the end of December. It consists of three large panels that focus on world-renowned architect and Arkansas native Fay Jones, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. After seeing our exhibit, Bella Vista resident Barb Templin loaned us her work of art featuring the Country Club. She spent over 450 hours creating it, in an art form called quilling. Quilling involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped and glued together to create decorative designs. You have to come and see this amazing piece!

Log cabin

As has been previously announced, we are getting an old log cabin donated to the museum this year. Christopher Columbus Cooper (no relation to Cooper Communities) built the original cabin about 1916 on what is now an empty lot north of the corner of Glasgow and Timbercrest Lane just inside the Highlands Gate of Bella Vista. The cabin was dismantled and rebuilt in its present configuration by Paul Parish in 1974 near Lake Avalon. After Paul died in 1997, his daughter sold the property to Scott Butler. Scott and his wife Angie are donating the cabin to our museum. Many hours have been spent this summer getting the cabin ready to move. Our next step is to get the foundation built on museum grounds. The timetable is still evolving, but we will announce ahead of time when it is to be moved. In the meantime, a committee has been formed to begin planning events related to the cabin. We plan to pay for this project through grants and donations. Grants have been approved from the Benton County Historical Preservation Commission and from the Bella Vista POA Charitable Giving Committee. We also continue to solicit individual donations. If you are interested in helping, please drop off or send to the museum your donation, or go online to www.gofundme.com/cabinfever. Any donor of $100 or more will have his or her name inscribed on a plaque to hang inside the cabin.

New Gift Shop Merchandise

A variety of merchandise continues to be added to our gift shop, some of it is purchased merchandise and some of it donated. A recent donation was a collection of Victorian house cookie jars and matching salt and pepper shakers. We now have Bella Vista baseball caps as well as jigsaw puzzles, magnets, Christmas ornaments and more, all representing Bella Vista. Coming this fall will be embroidered patches. We want to thank the city of Bella Vista and the Bella Vista POA for their cooperation in letting us use versions of their logos on some of our merchandise. Remember, other than golf merchandise at the pro shops, we are the only place you can find a real variety of Bella Vista souvenirs.

Tours and programs available

Private tours of the museum and programs about the history of Bella Vista are available outside of normal open hours for church groups, students, civic clubs and businesses. To arrange for an event, please leave a message at the museum, 479-855-2335, or contact Xyta Lucas at 479-876-6118.

Hours of operation

The Historical Museum is located at the corner of Highway 71 and Kingsland, next door to the American Legion, and is open 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. The phone number is 479-855-2335. The website is www.bellavista.museum.org.

Community on 10/03/2018