On my drive up to Mammoth Spring, I passed through Batesville, which prompted me to see if I’d added anything from the area to my Arkansas to-do list. The Old Independence Regional Museum was the only thing listed for Independence County, and after checking to make sure it was open on Wednesdays, I made plans to visit on my way home.
The museum is housed in a former armory, built for a unit of the Arkansas National Guard.
The young woman who worked behind the counter seemed surprised that someone showed up, and I was indeed the only visitor. It’s not a large museum, just two fairly large exhibit rooms and two small ones. But it’s put together well and it’s obvious someone cares.
Instead of the usual “this is what a general store would have looked like” display, they had a “this is what a gas station would have looked like” display.
There was information on the National Guard unit and on local businesses, and a special exhibit of wedding dresses. And of course, there was an exhibit about the pearl button industry in Arkansas. I think this is required of any museum anywhere near the Delta.
This time, however, they actually had some button blanks in the gift shop and I bought a small bag for my wall since my recent museum visits have made me the world’s leading expert. The blanks are the round bits punched out of mussel shells that are later polished to become buttons.
There was also a room telling about Batesville’s history during the Civil War when the two sides pretty much just took turns occupying the city. I haven’t included them all, but here are two examples.
They also had a telephone booth on display, as though that was an ancient artifact — which I suppose it is.
The young woman I’d met when I first entered was nowhere to be found when I wandered into the gift shop. As I was taking a package that contained a toy off the hook, it caught and I dropped it. She came running in a minute later asking if something fell. I just showed her the package in my hand and said that I’d dropped it. A few moments later, when I was removing a magnet from a display, I bumped a bracelet, which also fell. The girls said, “You’re kind of a klutz today, aren’t you.”
I didn’t respond, but I thought it was funny that she came right out and said it.
As local history museums go, this was better than many, in part because of the armory building itself. Certainly not a destination type of place, but worth a visit since I was driving through town anyway.