HISTORIANS

The Washington County Historical Society, now based at Headquarters House in Fayetteville, marked its 70th anniversary last month.

The first organizational meeting of the society was held on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, 1951, at the Lutheran Student Center at Dickson Street and Arkansas Avenue. Lessie Stringfellow Reed was the organizational chairwoman, while W.J. Lemke acted as the secretary for the meeting, according to the records of the WCHS Flashback, the organization’s journal for the past seven decades.

At a March 19 meeting of the group held at the University of Arkansas Library, Reed presided as a constitution for the WCHS was adopted and Lemke was elected president; Jobelle Holcomb, vice president; and Tom Feathers, secretary-treasurer. The new elected officers with six appointed members constituted the Board of Directors.

Those appointed to the first WCHS as board members were Grace Albright, Mary Droke, A.S. Humphreys, F.H. McConnell, Reed and F.S. Root.

The officers and board met March 29 at Lemke’s home and began discussing events for the remainder of the year. Dues were set at $2 a year, with each person joining receiving a souvenir membership card (walletsized) bearing printed images of Lovely County and the current configuration of Washington County imprinted on the membership cards for 1951.

The Washington County Historical Society is the state’s oldest, continuous county historical society. The Flashback’s August-September 1951 issue contained the following notice: “The Washington County Historical Society welcomes the newest county organization, the Pulaski County Historical Society, which was recently organized in the Little Rock.”

Information: To find out more about today’s Washington County Historical Society, call (479) 521-4681 or email dedmark@uark.edu.

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