The Historic Arkansas Museum, sometimes called HAM, is a state history

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in downtown

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. The museum was created as part of the Arkansas Territorial Capitol Restoration Commission, by Act 388 of the 1939 Arkansas General Assembly. The act named Louise Loughborough as chairwoman of the commission. Loughborough had been named to the Little Rock Planning Commission in 1935. Several houses near Cumberland and East 3rd Streets in downtown Little Rock were going to be condemned, including the Hinderliter House, the oldest building in Little Rock. Loughborough started a public relations campaign around Little Rock as a "town of three Capitols": the Hinderliter House, the Old State House, and the current

Arkansas State Capitol The Arkansas State Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the Arkansas General Assembly, and the seat of the Arkansas state government that sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the Capitol Mall in Little Rock, Arkan ...

Building. Use of the Hinderliter House as the last meeting place of the Arkansas Territorial Legislature has remained part of popular folklore, though it is not known if it was used for this purpose. Loughborough then gained support from the Works Progress Administration, the Arkansas General Assembly, and private donors. Loughborough worked with architect Max Mayer to restore the half-block of houses at Cumberland and East 3rd Street in downtown Little Rock. The Museum opened on July 19, 1941. The museum maintains gallery space and a number of historic buildings original to the site, as well as log structures transported from around the state. It was previously known as the Arkansas Territorial Restoration, but the name was changed in 2001 when new exhibit space and renovations were completed. The museum is an affiliate within the

Smithsonian Affiliations Smithsonian Affiliations is a division of the Smithsonian Institution that establishes long-term partnerships with non-Smithsonian museums and educational and cultural organizations in order to share collections, exhibitions and educational stra ...

program. The museum property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2019 as the Arkansas Territorial Restoration Historic District.

Collections

Art & Paintings

Furniture

The museum has a variety of 18th century furniture pieces, ranging from chairs, clothes press, library tables, and sugar chests. Most furniture pieces in the collection were acquired by the Loughborough Trust Purchase.

Guns

A small 18th century

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

collection can be found in the Arkansas Museum. * Percussion

Pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

, Made by John Pearson, Dated 1860 * Caplock Pistol , Made by A.R. Mendenhall, Dated 1855 * Caplock

Rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

, Made by W.O. Robertson, Dated 1870 * Colt Navy

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

, Made by

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of r ...

, Dated 1860 * Flintlock Rifle

Hunting Horns

* Arkansas Traveler Hunting Horn , Dated 1880 * Hunting Horn * Hunting Dog Ornamented Hunting Horn , Dated 1860 * Hunting Horn , Made by Dr. C.K. Mason, Dated 1895 * Hunting Horn , Made by H.J. Williams, Dated 1914

Jewelry

Bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...

, Made by Elsie Freund, Dated 1930 * Hair brooch , Owned by Sarah Downs, Dated 1868 * Pendant , Made by Elsie Freund, Dated 1930 *

Pocketwatch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatc ...

, Owned by A.A. Turner, Dated 1870

Knives

The museum has a collection of ten bowie style knives. The entire collection ranges from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s.

Photographs

* B.S. Alford * Diehl and Kennedy * Thomas W. Bankes *

Keystone View Company The Keystone View Company was a major distributor of stereographic images, and was located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. From 1892 through 1963 Keystone produced and distributed both educational and comic/sentimental stereoviews, and stereoscopes. B ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Pottery

* Blue Crackel Vase , Made by Camden Pottery, Dated 1925 *

Bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

, Made by Niloak Pottery, Dated 1925 * Churn , Made by J.R. Wilbur, Dated 1867 * Churn , Made by Lafayette Glass Pottery, Dated 1870 *

Jar A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on c ...

, Made by George Washington Cranston, Dated 1860 *

Vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...

, Made by Charles Stehm, Dated 1926

Pottery of Caddo

A collection of several

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...

pottery pieces, all made between 1500 and 1600.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1941 establishments in Arkansas Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums History museums in Arkansas Museums established in 1941 Museums in Little Rock, Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Little Rock, Arkansas Smithsonian Institution affiliates