Arkansas Archives & Research

Arkansas Research

With advance notice, researchers can be accommodated at most parks and museums. However, specific research facilities, such as the Lawrence County Historical Society and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, are associated with three state parks:

• Historic Washington State Park - The Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA) maintains a research facility at Historic Washington State Park. SARA actively collects and documents life in 12 counties of southwest Arkansas.

• Powhatan Historic State Park - The Lawrence County Historical Society maintains records from early Lawrence County, which once included most of north Arkansas and some of southern Missouri, when this was Missouri Territory. These include some of the oldest records in Arkansas, going back to the establishment of Davidsonville just a few years after the Louisiana Purchase. The records, along with a research room, are in the 1888 courthouse at Powhatan Historic State Park.

Arkansas Education

Arkansas's state parks and museums are here for teachers and students. State parks are the most-used "non-traditional classroom" in Arkansas. Here, students begin to realize that their world in Arkansas is just as important as places they read about in textbooks. And, teachers enjoy working with our trained interpreters and educators who strive to base programming in the frameworks and strands of mandated state curricula. Numerous parks and museums offer teacher in-service workshops throughout the year, many for "continuing education" credit.

Whether students participate in hands-on science experiments or encounter living history characters while standing where history actually happened, Arkansas State Parks offers memorable experiences for children of all ages. For further information about educational trips to state parks, visit www.ArkansasStateParks.com/schools/.