11th Annual Red River Heritage Symposium

WASHINGTON- The Historic Washington State Park hosted the 11th Annual Red River Heritage Symposium. The main topic that was discussed, was the timber industry of the Red River. The event took place on 22 July in the auditorium located in the 1914 Schoolhouse. Teacher workshops were held on Friday and Saturday the teachers took a trip to Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center. The teachers then joined in on the symposium. There were roughly about 20 people attending the event. The symposium began with Josh Williams the Park Curator giving a welcome and introduction. There were four guest speakers for Saturdays event. Peggy Lloyd, who has now retired from the being the manager of the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives at the State Park. She spoke of the Bodcaw Lumber Company. This company was created in the town of Stamps, Arkansas which became one of the many railroad towns in the ArkLaTex area. Mrs. Lloyd provided pictures that were discovered in the City Hall of Stamps and are now apart of the archives at the Washington Park. Josh Williams and Joshua Fischer gave a presentation of picture archives of timber that were taken in surrounding counties. These pictures are at the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, which they refer to as Sara. Billy Nations, the Chief Interpreter at Historic Washington State Park spoke of the Henry E. Hardtner: Forestry in Northern Louisiana. Jim Barnett, who retired with 50 years experience from the Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service and is still an emeritus scientist, spoke about on The Role of the CCC in Pioneering Timber Restoration in Northern Louisiana. Those attending the meeting got to take a tour through the Historic Park followed by a dinner provided by the Williams Tavern Restaurant. Following dinner speaker Dr. Jon Barry spoke on the Modern Timber industry Preservation Methods. Dr. Jon Barry is the Forestry Consultant at the University of Arkansas Experiment Station in Hope.  As stated in the pamphlet that was provided to all those who attended the symposium “the mission of the Red River Heritage Symposium is to encourage the awareness and heritage of the Great Bend Region of the Red River, which encompasses Southwest Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana, Northeast Texas, and Southeast Oklahoma.  Studies into the 19th century culture  of the region and general 19th century cultural trends are included in this symposium.” For those interested in visiting the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives they are open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00-4:30. For upcoming events like this, visit http://www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com and to stay updated on events follow their Facebook page, Old Washington Historic Park.