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Timberlands Must-See Attractions
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Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources - Films and
exhibits relate the history of Arkansas's oil and brine
industries and the big 1920s oil boom that caused an explosion
of population and wealth in South Arkansas virtually overnight.
The museum抯 Oilfield Park contains full-size derricks, other
equipment. Near El Dorado on Ark. 7 in Smackover. 870-725-2877.
Camden Visitors Center & McCollum-Chidester House -
In the spring of 1864, the Union Army briefly captured the town
of Camden during a failed Civil War campaign. Gen. Frederick
Steele occupied the McCollum-Chidester House at 926 Washington
Street, then the home of stagecoach operator John T. Chidester.
Now hosting public tours, the house is mostly furnished with
antiques original to the Chidester family, who moved into the
home in 1857. Ten miles west of Camden on Ark. 76, Poison Spring
Historic State Park preserves and interprets a battlefield of
the Red River Campaign. (870) 685-2748,
www.ArkansasStateParks.com/redrivercampaign. Civil War artifacts
and displays on two of Camden's historic products, Camark
pottery and Grapette soft drinks, are among exhibits housed in
the Camden Visitors Center and Museum. 314 Adams S.W.
870-836-6426.
Delta Rivers Nature Center - Designed to resemble an
old-fashioned Delta hunting lodge, the center抯 exhibits reveal
the history and importance of Arkansas抯 delta streams and
wetlands. Live and preserved wildlife displays include a
20,000-gallon aquarium. The center also offers trails for
wildlife observation and a gift shop. Off U.S. 65-B Regional
Park, Pine Bluff. 870-534-0011.
El Dorado Downtown Historic District - Recently
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this
downtown contains a significant collection of 1920s and 1930s
architecture (courthouse, churches and commercial buildings)
made necessary and financed by the oil boom that began in 1921.
A walking tour reveals the variety of boutiques, shops and
dining options recently brought to the district, which also
includes the Rialto Theater, the state抯 only working art deco
movie house. 888-921-BOOM.
Hope/Clinton Center - On August 19, 1946, Bill
Clinton, the nation's 42nd President, was born in the
southwestern Arkansas town of Hope. He lived his first four
years with his maternal grandparents in a house at 117 S. Hervey
Street. Today, the two-and-one-half story, wood-frame structure
built in 1917 in an American Foursquare design is the
centerpiece of the Clinton Center. With input from Clinton's
late mother, the house has been decorated with period
furnishings to appear as it did when it served as the future
chief executive's home. Guided tours are offered. Located in a
restored 1912 railroad depot at Fourth and Division Streets, the
Hope Visitors Center and Museum contains exhibits on Clinton,
the town's history, railroad memorabilia, and the area's legacy
of producing giant watermelons. 870-722-2580.
Old Washington Historic State Park - This
19th-century restoration village contains the state抯 largest
collection of pre-Civil War homes open for tours and Arkansas抯
Confederate capitol from 1863-65. Weapons and print-shop
museums, re-created blacksmith shop, restored courthouses,
exhibits on 19th-century construction techniques. On U.S. 278,
northwest of Hope. 870-983-2684.
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