WWI exhibit at Historic Washington

By submitted, 04/15/17 7:41 AM

WASHINGTON –  The Great War: Arkansas in World War I, a free traveling exhibit that tells the story of Arkansas’s role during World War I at home and on the battlefields, will be displayed at Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA), 201 Hwy 195, Washington, on April 25–May 6, from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The traveling exhibit consists of 12 panels that showcase images from the Arkansas State Archives’ holdings, including original documents, photographs, posters, maps and historical objects, giving a first-hand look at the lives of Arkansans during the war.

“I am very pleased that the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is sharing The Great War: Arkansas in World War I with their visitors and community,” stated Dr. Lisa Speer, State Historian and the Arkansas State Archives’ Director. “This exhibit, created to commemorate the centennial anniversary of America’s entry into World War I, powerfully memorializes the impact this first modern, global war had on the 65 million who were mobilized, including the 70,000 soldiers from Arkansas.”

The Arkansas State Archives is located in Little Rock. It maintains the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world and is dedicated to collecting and preserving the documentary history of Arkansas. The State Archives has two branch locations; the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Washington and the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Powhatan. The mission of the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is to collect and preserve primary and secondary source materials pertaining to the history of southwest Arkansas and its people, and to serve as a resource center for historical research focusing on the unique history, culture, and heritage of the area.

For more information about the exhibit at SARA, call 870-983-2633or email southwest.archives@arkansas.gov. To schedule this exhibit at your institution, call the Arkansas State Archives at 501-682-6900 or email state.archives@arkansas.gov. To learn more about the Arkansas State Archives and its collections visit www.archives.arkansas.gov.   The agency recently changed its name from the Arkansas History Commission to the Arkansas State Archives when it became a part of the Department of Arkansas Heritage on July 1, 2016.

This exhibit is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Arkansas State Archives is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and shares the goal of all eight Department of Arkansas Heritage agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas. The agencies are Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas State Archives, Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and the Old State House Museum.