desha county museum

I have visited many museums in the Mississippi Delta and I consider the Desha County Museum on of my Top 5. The museum is conveniently located on Hwy 165 just east of downtown Dumas. The museum has several buildings on site with historical items in them, as well as a well preserved log cabin, and old Baptist Church. The staff is very hospitable and eager to give visitors a tour of the museum. A historical treasure.

Desha County became a county only two years after Arkansas became a state in 1836. It has always been an important location as it is near the oldest settlement west of the Mississippi River, Arkansas Post. Having been by the museum of Desha County many times, this was the first visit there and it was one that I had wished I had made before. The museum is under the leadership of Director Peggy Chapman and the day we visited her husband, Leon Chapman, a volunteer with the museum and Mrs. Chapman showed us everything the museum has to offer. There are several old buildings on the property, a two story log home, a doctor's office, a general store, and an agricultural museum which is a steel building and was a very hot day when we visited, so we had to forego it. The museum has many everyday items that were used in the county and even a surprise of a working RCA Victrola record player. The museum is well organized and neat. Like most small museums they get their budget from the county which a lot of times is not much. The money they receive here is well spent.