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Delta Must-See Attractions
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Arkansas Post Museum - Located near to the Arkansas
Post National Memorial is the Arkansas Post Museum, an Arkansas
State Parks site, which includes authentic Delta structures and
numerous exhibits, including farm implements and Native American
pottery. 5530 U.S. 165 S., Gillett. 870-548-2634.
Arkansas Post National Memorial - The memorial, a
National Park Service unit, commemorates the first permanent
European settlement (1686) in the Mississippi River抯 lower
valley. The Post also served as Arkansas抯 first territorial
capital and was the site of a major Civil War battle. Ark. 169,
seven miles south of Gillett. 870-548-2207.
Crowley's Ridge Parkway National Scenic Byway -
National scenic byway follows the 198-mile length of the Delta's
only "highlands;" comprised of federal, state and county roads.
From Piggott to Helena, the route passes by or near five state
parks, a national forest, Civil War sites, the former home of
Ernest Hemingway, historic homes, museums, rich agricultural
areas, and the Delta Cultural Center. 870-910-8080.
Delta Cultural Center - Located in a restored depot
and storefront in the historic Mississippi River port of Helena,
the center抯 exhibits sketch the history and culture of Arkansas抯
portion of the Delta, the lower river抯 fertile alluvial plain.
Exhibit topics include the region抯 blues and gospel music, its
natural history and the Civil War battle at Helena. Missouri
and Natchez Sts., Helena. 870-338-4350.
Forrest Wood Crowley's Ridge Nature Center -
State-of-the-art displays create a realistic "rain storm," and a
movie about the massive 1811 New Madrid earthquake actually
"shakes" the audience. The new center has a computerized
"fly-over" of the entire 200-mile ridge country, topographical
models and a 23-foot-long space satellite photo of the delta
landscape. It also features hands-on nature exhibits, walking
trail, aquarium, and a duck hunting adventure. 600 E. Lawson
Road, Jonesboro 870-933-6787 .
Great River Road National Scenic Byway - The Great
River Road shadows the Mississippi River from Minnesota to the
Gulf of Mexico. Arkansas's portion of the route, which was
designated a National Scenic Byway in 2002, travels the flat
terrain of the nation's largest alluvial plain as well as an
extraordinary strip of elevated ground known as Crowley's Ridge.
At stops on and near Arkansas's Great River Road, travelers can
explore the rich heritage of eastern Arkansas's Delta region,
including remnants of its original hardwood-forest landscape,
Native Americans, the Civil War and more. 870-910-8080 .
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center -
Visitors to the center step back to the 1930s and tour the
restored home and barn-studio where Ernest Hemingway penned
portions of A Farewell to Arms and other works. Original
furnishings and memorabilia related to his extended visits to
the childhood home of his wife, Pauline, add to the interest in
this early 20th-century home in Piggott. 870-598-1037.
Lake Chicot State Park - A former main channel of the
Mississippi River, Lake Chicot is Arkansas抯 largest natural lake
and North America抯 largest oxbow lake. The state park offers
cabins, camping, hiking trails, a swimming pool, a marina and
lake tours for observing wildlife and sunsets. On Ark. 144,
eight miles northeast of Lake Village. 870-265-5480.
Lepanto抯 慉 Painted House� - The original house used
in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of John Grisham抯 novel,
The Painted House, has been re-assembled in Lepanto. The
CBS movie included many scenes in the area, including the
historic downtown. Located on south Greenwood Ave/Ark.
135. 870-475-2415.
Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park - A boardwalk
leads through a rare headwater swamp to a monument marking the
starting point established in 1815 for surveys of the Louisiana
Purchase territory. Interpretive panels along the way reveal the
history of the 1803 land deal, under which the land that would
become Arkansas first became U.S. soil. U.S. 49 South of
Brinkley to Ark. 362. 888-AT-PARKS.
Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie - The museum
tells the story of the people who pioneered Arkansas抯 emergence
as the nation抯 leading rice state on a 500,000-acre tall-grass
prairie and of the German settlers who gave the town of
Stuttgart its name. Exhibits include historic farm equipment,
pioneer life and duck hunting. Authentic and re-created prairie
structures. 921 E. 4th St., Stuttgart. 870-673-7001.
Parkin Archeological State Park - Parkin
Archeological State Park in eastern Arkansas at Parkin preserves
and interprets the Parkin site on the St. Francis River where a
17-acre Mississippi Period Native America village was located
from A.D. 1000 to 1550. A large platform mound on the river bank
remains. At the junction of U.S. 64 and Ark. 184 near Parkin. 870-755-2500.
White River National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center
- A 10,000-square-foot visitors center for the White River
National Wildlife Refuge located off Ark. 1 just south of St.
Charles in east Arkansas. The $2.6-million facility houses a
bookstore and an environmental education classroom. Exhibits
cover such topics as an historic timeline of the area, fish and
wildlife, bottomland hardwood forests, and birds and migratory
flyways. There is also an exhibit on bears. Long-range plans
call for the development of more than two miles of trails around
the center. Established in 1935 and covering some 160,000 acres
along the lower White, the refuge is home to the nation抯 largest
contiguous block of bottomland hardwood forest under a single
ownership. 870-946-1468.
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