What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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JACK SCHNEDLER Special to the Democrat-Gazette O n a 98-degree afternoon, the heat inside the Blacksmith Shop at Historic Washington State Park is scorching enough to drive a couple of the tourists outside before the smithy finishes his demonstration. "If it's too hot for you, feel free to leave early," says Jerry Ligon, as he shapes a piece of glowing-red metal. He is sweating as well, "but I've sort of got used to the temperatures in here." When this Hempstead County community prospered through the end of the Civil War, "the blacksmith ran one of the most important businesses in town," Ligon says. He began working three years ago as staff blacksmith at the historic site, operated by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism. The 101-acre park dominates the town, which served as the state's last Confederate capital in 1863-65. Today's population is 165. Open daily, Historic Washington preserves the largest collection of 19th-century buildings in Arkansas. Thirty of them are labeled as historically significant. The setting gives a solid sense of what town life was like here, going back to the slave- owning era through the Civil War. A dozen restored structures can be visited, mainly on six guided itineraries with widely varied themes. Each tour, stopping at three properties (two in one case), costs $7 for visitors 12 and up, $3 for children 7-12, free for those 6 and younger. Three tours are offered each day. One, "A Woman's Touch," concentrates on the second-class citizens of that male-dominated era. It focuses on "three socio-economic stations available to women in the 19th century by visiting and exploring the working woman, the woman as a business owner, and the woman of means." The antebellum period's third-class citizens are the topic of "Mind, Body and Spirit." On that tour, "the lives of Black citizens in Washington and their significant contributions to the community and the country will be explored in the context of the stages of interracial development in the area." Other tour topics include the 19th-century town's finest homes, the kinds of work done by blue-collar and professional residents, the types of businesses and the merchandise sold, and the daily life of early settlers including chores needed to survive. Tour tickets are sold in the 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse, which serves as the park's visitor center and museum. Exploring the information- packed museum is free, likewise the blacksmith shop and self-guided walking or driving tours to the historic structures. A massive natural highlight is Arkansas' largest magnolia tree, planted in 1839 by lawyer Grandison Delaney Royston. Courthouse exhibits trace Washington's growth and decline, starting with its founding in 1824 as a handy stop for travelers on the rugged Southwest Trail that led to the future state of Texas. The town soon became the county seat for the mainly rural population of Hempstead County. Washington's steady decline was preordained in 1874 when the Cairo & Fulton Railroad bypassed the town in favor of Hope. In 1875, fire ravaged five blocks of the business district. Another fire in 1883 destroyed 24 more businesses. Washington managed to remain the county seat until 1939, when that role was assumed by much larger Hope. Historic preservation was sparked in 1958 when local citizens formed the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation. The town gained listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The site was dedicated as Old Washington Historic State Park in 1973, with the name changed in 2006 to Historic Washington State Park. Summer visitors still sweating from the Blacksmith Shop can find air- conditioned comfort along with lunch in an antebellum setting at the Williams' Tavern Restaurant. The structure, built 10 miles from Washington in 1832, was moved to the state park in the 1980s. The cozy restaurant's midday fare includes plate lunches, sandwiches and salads. There's no cold beer in this mostly dry county, but iced tea makes a refreshing antidote to the heat of the smithy's forge. AUGUST 7-13, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 37 SIGHTSEEING FAQ Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center WHEN — 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily WHERE — 103 Franklin St., Washington Williams Tavern Restaurant WHEN — 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tues- day-Sunday The Blacksmith Shop WHEN — 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday INFO — HistoricWashington- StatePark.com; 870-983-2684 Surrounded By History Past comes alive in Washington's structures, tours Blacksmith Jerry Ligon gives a demonstration of his trade at Historic Washington. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Marcia Schnedler)