What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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8 WHAT'S UP! SEPTEMBER 2-8, 2018 BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette T he Shiloh Museum started without a home, a name, a curator or a mission. All it had in 1965 was a collection of Native American artifacts the city of Springdale purchased from Guy Howard, a former Springdale city attorney, mayor and judge, for $15,000 — although that was a tidy sum equal to about $120,000 in today's money. It wasn't until 1968 that the museum got a piece of a building — the upstairs of the old library at the corner of Main and Johnson — and a new facility designed as a museum wasn't completed until 1991. What the Shiloh Museum always had, says its director, Allyn Lord, were an open door and an open heart. She first visited the museum in the 1980s, she remembers, when she was treasurer for the Arkansas Museums Association. "I spent hours doing research down in the basement where the museum collections were stored," she recalls. "Shiloh Museum then was small and a bit antiquated, but I was welcomed 1965 1979 1967 1981 1968 1985 1977 1986 1978 1988 Guy Howard, former mayor, sells some 10,000 Native American artifacts to the city of Springdale for $15,000 to start a museum. The Shiloh Museum opens Sept. 7 in the old library at the corner of Main and Johnson. Linda Allen is hired as part-time curator. Mary Parsons organizes the photo collec- tion, later the largest in the state. The Steele General Store is moved to the museum. The Ritter-Mc- Donald log cabin is moved to the museum. Lockwood and Anna- bel Searcy leave their property to the museum, giving the Shiloh an entire city block. Fundraising for a new building begins. Dr. John C. Carter's office is moved to the grounds. The first Pettigrew Day takes place in Madison County. COVER STORY Shiloh Museum still evolving at 50 Photo courtesy Shiloh Museum Shiloh Museum board members process donations to the fundraising campaign in 1988. By 1990 the museum had raised $1.1 million for the construction of a new, 22,000-square-foot facility. About a third of the funding came from the city of Springdale while the remaining funds were raised privately. Major contributors included the Tyson Foundation and Bernice Jones. Standing, from left, are Frank O'Donnel, Lawrence Layman, Joe Roberts, Dr. Dwight Heathman, Ed Preddy, Jim Carpenter, Dr. Stanley Applegate and Roy Bowman. Seated, from left, are Jim Ritter, Mary Sellers, Maudine Sanders, Betty Tollett, Bettye Mohney and David Quin. Living History