NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — What says summer better than a picnic? But this isn’t about food. This is about history - delicious pieces of the past perfect to pair with a sandwich, some potato salad, pecan pie and sweet tea - and some of the best places for dinner and a story.
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FAYETTEVILLE EVERGREEN CEMETERY UNIVERSITY & CENTER OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
The stone pictured here marks the grave of Sophia Sawyer, missionary school teacher and the first recorded burial in Fayetteville’s first public cemetery. Miss Sawyer opened the Fayetteville Female Seminary in 1839 and was buried on its grounds on Mountain Street when she died in 1854. She was later reburied in Evergreen in the company of notable people from Arkansas history such as Sen. J. William Fulbright, Gov.
Archibald Yell and Lafayette Gregg, banker, lawyer, state representative, Civil War veteran and Arkansas Supreme Court justice.
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BUFFALO RIVER NEWTON COUNTY 870-365-2700 OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
“Bright, roomy gravel bars along the Buffalo National River are as luxurious as any Caribbean beach. Only the grains of sand are bigger,” Outdoors editor Flip Putthoff says. “River rats pass several inviting gravel bars per mile perfect for a fine picnic spread, such as this one we enjoyed during a week on the river in May. This particular picnic spot could be under a hundred feet of water if not for the effort of The Ozark Society to prevent federal dams in three places along the Buffalo. The Buffalo became the first national river in the United States in 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed legislation creating the Buffalo National River.”
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RIVER VALLEY BELLE POINT FORT SMITH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE 783-3961 OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
Belle Point, part of the Fort Smith National Historic Site, is the first place settlers landed in Fort Smith in 1817. On a rolling hill overlooking the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, Belle Point - French for “beautiful place” - includes the stone outlines in the ground that are all that remains of the first fort.
There’s also a paved river walk trail from the Visitors Center (and parking lot) about 3/4 mile along the river and through the shady woods into Fort Smith River Park.
Along this trail is the National Park’s Trail of Tears overlook, commemorating the thousands of Native Americans of various tribes who passed through on their forced relocation.
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FAYETTEVILLE OLD MAIN LAWN ARKANSAS AVENUE CAMPUSMAPS.UARK.EDU OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
“The University Building,” a Second Empire-style structure completed in 1875 on a low bid of $123,855, was the heart of the Arkansas Industrial University and remains the heart of the University of Arkansas. It was restored from 1989-1991 at a cost of $10 million and officially renamed Old Main.
The front lawn is one of two arboreta on campus, with 480 trees mapped and identified by species. There are also 40 pieces of public art on campus.
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BENTONVILLE PEEL MANSION 400 S. WALTON BLVD. 273-3636 OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE FOR INDIVIDUALS
The Peel Mansion, designed in the Italianate Villa style, was built in 1875 by Col. Samuel West Peel. Peel, born in 1831 in Independence County, was a Confederate soldier and the first native-born Arkansan to be elected to the United States Congress. He called his 14-room home “The Oaks.” Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the Peel Mansion is also available for social and corporate events. Peel died at the age of 93 in 1924 and is buried in Bentonville Cemetery.
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FAYETTEVILLE WILSON PARK ‘CASTLE’ 675 PARK AVE. ACCESSFAYETTEVILLE.ORG OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
Designed by sculptor Frank Williams, “Seven Points” was completed in 1981 and renovated in 1999 and 2004.
The benches and flower fountain were created by artist Eugene Sargent. Scull Creek flows into the pond, a reminder of the early 1900s, when locals swam in Trent Pond. The first portion of “City Park” was purchased in 1944 and the rest in 1946 for a total of $31,000.
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ROGERS WAR EAGLE MILL 11045 WAR EAGLE ROAD 789-5343 OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
The first mill was built on War Eagle Creek by Sylvanus and Catherine Blackburn in 1832, but today’s structure dates only to the 1970s, when Jewel Medlin purchased the property, intrigued with the old mill foundation and its history. Previous incarnations were burned during the Civil War and later in a 1924 fire of unknown cause. Today, War Eagle Mill is the only working mill in Arkansas, still powered by an 18-foot cypress waterwheel installed in 1973.
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SPRINGDALE SHILOH MUSEUM 118 W. JOHNSON AVE. 750-8165 OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
The Shiloh Museum is the legacy of Guy Howard, who moved to Springdale by covered wagon in the 1890s. An avid collector of arrowheads and Indian artifacts, he sold his private collection to the city in 1966, and the museum opened in 1968. In the 1980s, four historical buildings (an 1850s log cabin, an 1870s general store, an 1870s country doctor’s office, and a 1930s outhouse) were moved onto the museum campus, complementing an 1870s home (remodeled in 1938) already on the property.
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DEVIL’S DEN STATE PARK 11333 ARKANSAS 74 WEST FORK 761-3325 OPEN ALL YEAR; FREE
Created in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps - part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal - Devil’s Den State Park has some 60 caves (complete with the Ozark big-eared bat); hiking, mountain biking and backpacking trails; cabins, campgrounds, a cafe and a swimming pool.
Archaeological sites indicate the presence of American Indians some 8,000 years ago, and European settlers came around 1836, the year Arkansas became the 25th state.
Whats Up, Pages 15 on 07/23/2010