Discovering More Historical Resources

David Stricklin will be guest speaker during a program that showcases a number of historical documents, photographs, and other resources that can be found at the Butler Center in Little Rock. “What We Have to Offer” will be presented at Old Independence Regional Museum on Sunday, October 19, at 2 p.m.

“I will include a number of resources pertaining to Batesville and nearby towns and counties,” said Stricklin. “One popular resource is the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. This on-line access program is one way that the Butler Center seeks to connect people all over the world with the history of Arkansas.”

Stricklin is Head of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Arkansas history department, which is part of the Central Arkansas Library System. He also serves as Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, teaching an oral history methodology seminar in the university’s master’s program in public history. He has worked as an editor, field researcher and media producer in several oral history programs and has done a number of contract oral history jobs for clients in several states.

He served two terms as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Humanities Council, and has worked on a number of radio and television documentaries over the years. He holds a Ph.D in history from Tulane University.

“Before David moved to Little Rock, he taught at Lyon College here in Batesville, where he was Associate Professor of History,” stated museum curator Twyla Wright. “He served on our Board of Trustees for Old Independence Regional Museum and was responsible for some of our exhibits when we first opened in 1998. He is a superb leader and through the Butler Center he successfully promotes a greater understanding and appreciation of Arkansas history, literature, art and culture.”

According to the museum, anyone who is interested in local and regional history, collecting family history, or investigating historical ideas, will be rewarded as they discover what the Butler Center has to offer.

The program will be free and open to the public. Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.

Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.