Smackover museum displays traveling WWI exhibit

Special to the NewsTimes

The Great War: Arkansas in World War I, a free traveling exhibit that tells the story of Arkansas’s role during World War I at home and on the battlefields, is being displayed at the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources through July 27.

4087 Smackover Hwy., Smackover, AR 71762 on June 7-July 27, 2018 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The traveling exhibit consists of nine panels showcasing images from the Arkansas State Archives’ holdings, including original documents, photographs, posters, maps and historical objects, giving a firsthand look at the lives of Arkansans during the war. The exhibit covers the chronology of the war as well as various facets of the conflict, such as training troops in Arkansas, actions overseas, the Home Front, providing for the war, health care and Arkansas heroes.

“I am very pleased that the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources is sharing The Great War: Arkansas in World War I with their visitors and community,” said Julienne Crawford, the Arkansas State Archives’ Curator. “This exhibit, created to commemorate the centennial anniversary of America’s entry into World War I, powerfully memorializes the impact this first modern, global war had on the 65 million who were mobilized, including the 70,000 soldiers from Arkansas.”

The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock maintains the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world and is dedicated to collecting and preserving the documentary history of Arkansas.

The exhibit is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information about the exhibit at the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, call 870725-2877. The museum is located at 4087 Smackover Highway in Smackover and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.