Lakeport to host Reading Retreat

Readers who are interested in delving into the history of the Mississippi River may be interested in attending a retreat at the Lakeport Plantation Museum in Lake Village from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. April 13.

Attendees will read Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi,” published in 1883, and Rinker Buck’s book by the same name, published in 2022. Both authors traveled down the Mississippi River and chronicled their experiences, according to a news release.

Twain reminisces on his life training as a steamboat captain in the 1850s and writes about his travels along the Mississippi in 1882.

To gain a deeper understanding of how the West was opened and how it played a critical role in the development of the U.S. economy in the late 1880s, Buck traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers on a flatboat in the late 2010s.

The cost of the retreat is $60 for museum members and $70 for non-members. Registration includes copies of the two books and lunch.

The Lakeport Plantation is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. Open to the public since 2007, Lakeport researches and interprets the people and cultures that shaped plantation life in the Mississippi River Delta, focusing on the Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction Periods.

Lakeport Plantation Museum is located at 601 Highway 142, Lake Village. Guided tours of the home are available on the hour Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and self-guided tours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

For details or to register, contact Lakeport Plantation at (870) 265-6031 or email Ruth O’Loughlin, roloughlin@ AState.edu.