Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1471204
Bella Vista Proud The Weekly Vista Wednesday, June 22, 2022 F C5 www.sheehanthefootman.com Take the First Step ...to Good Foot Health Ankle & Foot Centers of Mid-America Bryan M. Sheehan, DPM SheehanTheFootMan.com Bunions Diabetic Care Heel Pain Hyprocure 1000 SE. Walton Blvd, Suite 16, Bentonville, AR 72712 | 479-224-6411 • 1200 NEO Loop, Suite A, Grove, OK 74344 | 918-787-6893 Make an appointment today Take the First Step ...to Good Foot Health Ankle & Foot Centers of Mid-America Bryan M. Sheehan, DPM SheehanTheFootMan.com Bunions Diabetic Care Heel Pain Hyprocure 1000 SE. Walton Blvd, Suite 16, Bentonville, AR 72712 | 479-224-6411 • 1200 NEO Loop, Suite A, Grove, OK 74344 | 918-787-6893 Make an appointment today Take the First Step ...to Good Foot Health Ankle & Foot Centers of Mid-America Bryan M. Sheehan, DPM SheehanTheFootMan.com Bunions Diabetic Care Heel Pain Hyprocure 1000 SE. Walton Blvd, Suite 16, Bentonville, AR 72712 | 479-224-6411 • 1200 NEO Loop, Suite A, Grove, OK 74344 | 918-787-6893 Make an appointment today Take the First Step ...to Good Foot Health Ankle & Foot Centers of Mid-America Bryan M. Sheehan, DPM SheehanTheFootMan.com Bunions Diabetic Care Heel Pain Hyprocure 1000 SE. Walton Blvd, Suite 16, Bentonville, AR 72712 | 479-224-6411 • 1200 NEO Loop, Suite A, Grove, OK 74344 | 918-787-6893 Make an appointment today 1300 SW WESTPARK DRIVE • BENTONVILLE, AR 72712 479-224-6411 1200 NEO LOOP, SuITE A • GROVE, OK 74344 918-787-6893 Take the First Step ...to Good Foot Health Ankle & Foot Centers of Mid-America Bunions Diabetic Care Heel Make an appointment today Take the First Step ...to Good Foot Health Minimal Invasive Surgery Historical Museum preserves heritage of Bella Vista Xyta Lucas Co-President Bella Vista Historical Society The Bella Vista Historical Museum is operated by the Bella Vista Historical Soci- ety, which was founded in 1976, growing out of the Bicentennial celebration that year. The mission of the Historical Society is to "discover, collect, preserve or restore materials and ar - tifacts concerned with our community's heritage." The Historical Society originally met upstairs in the meeting room of the Hill 'n Dale restaurant, which was located at the northeast corner of Lake Bella Vista. After a few years, the members started thinking about opening their own building. They checked out several places but none quite fit the bill. Then Cooper Communities offered them a parcel of land near the intersection of Highway 71 and King - sland, next to the old farm- house to which the Amer- ican Legion had moved in 1981 after Cooper offered them that property. A big fundraising drive was started, which result- ed in the construction of a modular building in 1984 with a formal public opening in the spring of 1985. The original building consisted of a large exhibit room, a smaller room used for storage and as an office, a small kitchen and two bathrooms. The decision was made to add a meeting room to the east side of the build - ing and that opened in 1995. During the winter of 2013-14, Carole Harter, the society's president at the time, arranged for the mu- seum to be the recipient of several large exhibit cases which had been put in storage by the Walmart 5 & 10 museum in Bentonville following its remodeling, for any nonprofit that wanted them. Those large exhibit cab - inets put the Bella Vista museum on an entirely new path. They were moved into the meeting room, and the decision was then made to separate the museum's exhibits into two 50-year eras. The original exhibit room was named the Linebarger Room, after the founders of the summer resort in 1917, and was set up with exhibits from the 1915- 1964 era. The room that was formerly used only for meetings or programs became the Cooper Room, after John Cooper, Sr., who opened Bella Vista Village in 1965, with exhibits from 1965-forward lining the walls. Another room was add - ed to the north end of the museum in 2015. That room became another exhibit room, also holding exhibits from the 1915- 1964 era, including one on E.L. Keith, who bought the summer resort from the Linebargers in 1952, and sold it to John Cooper, Sr., in 1964. Space was also carved out of that room for the society's office. The original office area was converted into a gift shop. Two significant events happened at the museum in 2019. First, an old set - tler's cabin was moved to the museum grounds in March, donated by Scott and Angie Butler. It was originally built by C.C. Cooper (no relation to John Cooper) just inside what is now the High - lands gate about 1912 and moved in 1974 by Paul Parish to his backyard alongside Lake Avalon. It was purchased by the Butlers following Parish's death in 1997. Secondly, in 2019, the Bella Vista Civil War Roundtable was founded under the umbrella of the Historical Society. It began holding monthly meetings at the museum in May 2019 and has continued since then except for sev - eral months in 2020 when the museum was closed due to covid. The Historical Society obtained ownership of the old Linebarger water tank on Cunningham Drive in 2015, which property volunteers now maintain. It also became the owner of Summit Cemetery in the Metfield area in 2018. During the museum clo - sure in 2020, volunteers took on other historic cemeteries to maintain, including Beavers, Funk, Donovan/Nott and Mills, and that work continues. Today the museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1-5 p.m. Its funding comes from do - nations and membership fees, grants, gift shop sales and from the city of Bella Vista with in-kind services donated by the Property Owners Association. Ad - mission is free. Two vol- unteer docents work each shift, and more docents are needed to complete the staffing. Anyone interested in becoming a docent is asked to contact Jill Wer - ner, at jrwerner@cox.net, or by phone at 479-721- 3122. Photo submitted The Bella Vista Historical Museum moved into its current location in 1985 at the intersection of Hwy. 71 and Kingsland Road, where it continues its mission of preserving the community's heritage.