The Delta Cultural Center in downtown

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

, is a cultural center and

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 thes ...

of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the culture of the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. They also partner with other cultural organizations to interepret different cultural elements. The center consists of three buildings: *A Visitors Center which houses an interactive exhibition of Delta music including the King Biscuit Blues Festival and the broadcast facilities for

King Biscuit Time :''"King Biscuit Time" is also the name under which ex- Beta Band frontman Steve Mason releases his solo work.'' ''King Biscuit Time'' is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from ...

which is the longest running blues radio program in the nation. *The Train Depot, a former Union Pacific station, at Natchez and Missouri Street, houses exhibits on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in Helena including the 1863

Battle of Helena The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, as part of the American Civil War. Union troops had captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Over 7,500 Confederate troops led by Li ...

, Union occupation of the area, slave experiences, and women in Civil War Helena. The Train Depot also has exhibits on the history of the Mississippi River including the

Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The uninflated cost of the damage has been estimat ...

and exhibits on Delta agriculture and Native American history. This c. 1915 Craftsman/Classical Revival building is 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 ...

*The Moore-Hornor House, at 323 Beech Street, is a red brick

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

-style home built in 1859, and is also listed on the National Register. The back yard of the home saw fierce hand-to-hand fighting during the Battle of Helena in the Civil War.

References

External links

Delta Cultural Center website
1990 establishments in Arkansas African-American museums in Arkansas Arkansas Heritage Trails System History museums in Arkansas History of Arkansas Music museums in Arkansas Museums established in 1990 Museums in Helena, Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Phillips County, Arkansas Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Helena Former railway stations in Arkansas {{Arkansas-museum-stub

See also

References

External links