A DAY IN THE LIFE
Beautiful sights surround historic hub
For centuries, Arkadelphia’s landscape has nurtured civilization, from the Caddo people who built mounds in the area to the settlers who built up the frontier town. Now two universities draw students to the area. I drove between the rival universities into the heart of Arkadelphia, ready to learn the story of this pretty city nestled along the Ouachita River.
10:05 A.M.
Passenger trains still stop at the depot in Arkadelphia, but visitors will not find an Amtrak office inside. Instead, the depot houses the Clark County Historical Museum. I met DeLisa Seale, coordinator, in the front room, which boasted a temporary exhibit about a nearby community called Hollywood.
The next room offers extensive history resources. Other areas offer domestic objects such as a pump organ and colorful quilts,a collection of Native American pottery, and information about everything from the Graysonia lumber town to the two universities.
The artifacts provide an important link to the past, Seale said, “especially for the younger generation to be able to walk through and see things that their parents or grandparents grew up with, to know the history and to know how things were so different,” she said. “And the older generation, too. It just brings back memories, and they have stories to tell about various things .”
11:30 A.M.
I was eager to discuss a more recent chapter in the city’s past — a tornado that ripped through the town in 1997. I met Bill Wright, chairman of the Arkadelphia 2025 Commission, at Java Primo Coffee House, Cafe & More to discuss the event, which killed five people in the city and leveled the historic downtown.
“The National Guard was in town, and we could not come downtown unless we had a reason to do so for six weeks after the tornado,” he said. “There was rubble laying out in the street itself. It was just a terrible, terrible time.”
In the following days, 250 to 350 would come together as volunteers in hopes of rebuilding the city, he said, adding that when President Bill Clinton and other politicians visited the city to tour the damaged area, Clinton encouraged citizens to think of the future during the rebuilding efforts.
That advice ultimately led to the 2025 Commission. The organization facilitated soft
second mortgages that encouraged folks to build homes in a residential part of town that had been ravaged by the twister. The commission also helped secure grants to repair the he historic Clark County Courthouse. A new city hall and police station downtown were designed to complement the historic structure.
“Our goal was to try to create this governmental corridor so the downtown didn’t die,” Wright said.
Momentum from the 2025 Commission also brought forth other activities that helped encourage growth in Arkadelphia, such as a strategic plan for the city’s development and a half-cent economicdevelopment sales tax that Wright said was instrumental in attracting the Sun Bio Material Co. to the town.
Wright added that he is confident that Arkadelphia will continue to make progress as it continues its journey through the 21st century.
“People have faith in what’s happening,” he said. “Things go awry, bad things happen and all that, but I can see that people have a vision, and people are enthusiastic. It’s not just my vision; it’s everybody’s vision. We’ve collectively got a vision.”
2 P.M.
I bid adieu to downtown and drove a short distance to the DeSoto Bluff Trail. At the end of the trail, a bluff overlooking the Ouachita River offers an inspiring view. Far below, the calm green water cuts a path through a sea of green trees, reminding me of the natural beauty that makes me proud to call Arkansas home.