Historical Museum News

Settler's Cabin

We appreciate Woodland Photography of Bentonville stepping up to do a fundraiser with us on the old Settler's Cabin which was recently moved to the museum grounds. If you donate $100 to our Historical Society, you will receive a $500 certificate for a $250 family, senior, or children's fine portrait session and $250 towards your portrait art selection. Deadline is May 15. Entry forms are available at the museum, or you may call Woodland for more information at 479-273-7186. We also continue to accept donations at the museum in person by cash, check or credit/debit card, or you are welcome to mail them to the museum at 1885 Bella Vista Way, Bella Vista AR 72714. Remember, any donors who give $100 or more will have their names inscribed on a plaque inside the cabin.

City-Wide Garage Sale

We still have a few parking spaces available in front of the museum for individuals who would like to participate in the city-wide garage sale on April 26 and 27, but don't want to have a garage sale at home. We know that one booth is going to have a variety of dolls, including Barbie dolls, and there's sure to be other interesting items for sale. Volunteer Dustie Meads is coordinating this project, which is also a fundraiser for our Settler's Cabin project. If you are interested in renting one or more of the spaces, please contact her at 479-553-8116.

Ozark Folklorists

Local free-lance writer and researcher Katrina Hine will be at the museum at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28, to talk about Ozark folklorists Vance Randolph (1892-1980) and Otto Rayburn (1891-1960). They were prolific writers of books and magazine articles on Ozark folklore. John Cooper Sr. enjoyed their writings so much that he even named a lake after one of them, Lake Rayburn. Admission is free.

Bella Vista Civil War Round Table

On Thursday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m., the inaugural meeting of the Bella Vista Civil War Round Table will be held at the museum and will continue thereafter the first Thursday of each month. Initially, meetings will be focused on talks by local Civil War historians, but eventually, we intend to include book discussions, field trips to local Civil War sites and other Civil War interests as determined by participants. Please join us.

Historic Sites Driving Tours

Our popular historic sites driving tours are returning with the first one scheduled for Saturday, May 18, starting at 12:30 p.m. These have been successful fundraisers in the past and we are happy to do them again. The cost will be $15/person or $25 for two. If you are interested, leave your contact information at the museum or call Dale Phillips at 812-899-2049.

Museum Gift Shop

We continue to receive donations of various items to sell in our gift shop as a fundraiser. Soon to arrive is a collection of Frankoma pottery. Please stop by and check out the latest, along with all of our regular Bella Vista souvenirs, books, and more.

Hours of operation

The Historical Museum is located at the corner of U.S. Highway 71 and Kingsland Road, next door to the American Legion, and is open 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The phone number is 479-855-2335. The website address is bellavistamuseum.org.

Community on 04/17/2019