‘WALKS THROUGH HISTORY’ TOURs
- When: Saturday, October 9, 2010, 11 a.m.
- Where: various locations--see long description
- Cost: Free
- Age limit: Not available
- Categories: Classes, Community
‘WALKS THROUGH HISTORY’ TOURS
LITTLE ROCK–The next Arkansas Historic Preservation Program “Walks Through History” tour will visit the Rector Commercial Historic District at Rector in Clay County on August 14, AHPP Director Frances McSwain announced today.
The northeast Arkansas town of Rector was platted in 1882 along the St. Louis and Texas Railroad. Rector grew rapidly as a result of the railroad, the timber industry, and later, cotton. The buildings in downtown Rector retain much of their historic integrity, including several with cast iron storefronts. These storefronts were manufactured by the Mesker Brothers Company of St. Louis beginning in 1879. The tour group will meet at the junction of South Main and Front streets, and the tour is co-sponsored by Rector Downtown Central.
In the “Walks Through History” program, AHPP historians each month provide free guided walking tours of historic structures and districts across Arkansas. The tours all begin at 11 a.m. on Saturdays. The tours can be used to earn one hour of American Institute of Architects continuing education credit and two hours of professional development credit through the Arkansas Department of Education.
Other 2010 “Walks Through History” tours will be held Sept. 18, DeWitt Commercial Historic District, co-sponsored by the Grand Prairie Historical Society; Oct. 9, Historic Hampton, co-sponsored by the Hampton Cemetery Committee; Nov. 13, Shaheen-Goodfellow Weekend Cottage (“Stoneflower”), co-sponsored by the Cleburne County Historical Society, and Dec. 11, Harrisburg Commercial Historic District, co-sponsored by the Sunken Lands Regional Chamber of Commerce.
All tours are free and open to the public. For information, call the AHPP at (501) 324-9880, write the agency at 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center St., Little Rock, AR 72201, send an e-mail message to info@arkansaspreservation.org, or visit the agency web site at www.arkansaspreservation.org.
The AHPP is the Department of Arkansas Heritage agency responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state’s cultural resources. Other agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Historic Arkansas Museum.
