Walking through history

Southern Living, Apr 2001 by Kunstel, Stacy

Two hours and almost 200 years from Little Rock, Washington, Arkansas, lives on in its history.

If it weren't for passing cars and kids carrying around Pokemon cards, visitors to Washington, Arkansas, might think they had stepped 150 years back in time. Declared a state park in 1973, the town boasts more than 40 preserved or reconstructed buildings that date from the early 19th to the early 20th centuries.

Prim homes, plank-board sidewalks, and white picket fences blur the past and present at every corner in this village of 148 people. Located in the southwest comer of Arkansas, the town is known for the Old Washington Historic State Park, several blocks of buildings constructed between 1832 and the early 20th century. Once the gateway to Mexican territory (Texas lies 30 miles away), Washington later served as the Confederate state capital of Arkansas from 1863 to 1865.

At least five park structures open daily for tours. Women in period clothing talk about mid-1800s life in the homes. Men in the Printing Museum demonstrate how to work presses like those used during the Civil War. The Weapons Museum holds a collection of more than 600 guns, including Civil War sabers, German handguns from World War II, and a women's gun disguised as a hair clip.

The stately 1836 courthouse, surrounded by a whitewashed picket fence, was the site of the area's first murder trial in 1844. Visit the 1835 Royston Log House, the 1832 Block House, or the 1845 Sanders Farmstead to get a clearer picture of territorial life. Tour the Crouch House, where sections of walls have been left bare to show the finely laid lathing and the painted wood doors. Portions of the shutters, floors, and walls are original.

Today, more than 100,000 people find their way to the park each year. Some of them, so overwhelmed by the number of historic structures, mistake private homes for park buildings. Charlotte Patterson, clothing director for Old Washington, says visitors have asked if her more contemporary-looking home is on tour.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell," she says. "Our town is living history. We don't roll up the streets at five o'clock."

The park's marketing director, LuGene Erwin, agrees. "When I first moved here I would look out the window and it looked like the 1950s," she says. "But the longer you're here, the further back in time it seems."

Stacy Kunstel

Old Washington Historic State Park: P.O. Box 98, Washington, AR 71862; (870) 9832684. Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission: $6.50 adults, $3.25 ages 6-12. Directions: Exit I-30 at Hope, and drive 8 miles north on US. 278 to Washington. The visitors center is on the north side. Special events: Frontier Days in September and Civil War Weekend in November. Williams Tavern Restaurant: (870) 983-2890. Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Plate lunches, delicious chicken-fried steak, cornbread, and cobbler with ice cream are served at this 1832 tavern.