HISTORICAL MUSEUM NEWS
Fay Jones exhibit
With the 50th anniversary of the Bella Vista Country Club coming up in November, and the 30th anniversary of the Cooper Chapel celebrated this spring, both of which were designed by architect Fay Jones, now is a good time to see our Fay Jones exhibit, on loan from the Old Statehouse Museum in Little Rock. Jones was a proponent of “organic architecture” as seen, for example, in his design of the Cooper Chapel in Bella Vista and the Thorncrown Chapel near Eureka Springs. He was quoted as saying, “The nature of materials is a very fundamental principle of organic architecture … Materials should be used in a way that conveys their strength and best qualities, letting each material — whether wood, stone or steel — express its basic nature.” While you are at the museum, take time also to view the videos that accompany the exhibit, including the interview with Jones. Jones, a resident of Fayetteville and a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, died in 2004.
Sunset Hotel model
While the Sunset Hotel model is away being refurbished for its new base, museum visitors can still view pictures and read of its history from the time it opened in 1929 until it was burned to the ground in the middle of the night by an arsonist 70 years later. It served as a hotel until the early 1950s, when it became a private Baptist high school for several years, and then in the mid-1960s became Cooper Communities’ Bella Vista headquarters, renamed Village Hall.
Linebarger golf course
Golfers are invited to visit the museum and view the golf clubs that were used on the first golf course in Bella Vista, a nine-hole course built by the Linebarger Brothers in 1921. Pictures show that the course existed along the west side of Lake Bella Vista, where the four-lane U.S. Highway 71 passes through today. The tee box for the first hole was located about where the Veterans Wall of Honor is now, hitting west across Little Sugar Creek, north of the Lake Bella Vista dam, to the green and finishing with a par 5 hole alongside the lake. The biggest challenge was hitting across what was then a two-lane gravel road, up to the hill south of what is now the Artist Retreat Center, to play holes No. 3 and No. 4, and back down across the road for hole No. 5. A map is available at the museum showing the approximate location of all nine holes.
Log cabin project
Donations for our log cabin project are still very much welcome, either through the GoFundMe/Cabin Fever account online or through payments left at or mailed to the museum. Our mailing address is 1885 Bella Vista Way, Bella Vista AR 72714. All donors of $100 or more will be recognized with a plaque inside the cabin. After we get the foundation built on museum grounds and the cabin moved later this year, we will rebuild the front porch and begin to plan the furnishings to go inside the cabin. We continue to be quite excited about getting the cabin in place, furnishing it and planning future events around it.
Private tours available
Private tours of the museum are available outside of normal open hours for church groups, students, civic clubs, businesses, etc. To arrange for a tour, leave a message at the museum, 479-855-2335, or contact Xyta Lucas at 479-876-6118.
Hours of operation
The Historical Museum is located at the corner of U.S. Highway 71 and Kingsland Road and is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. The phone number is 479-855-2335, and the website is bellavista.museum.org.