Jacksonport State Park is celebrating Legacy week and wants to invite everyone to join us. This week will be filled with programs featuring special legacy tours and programs that are designed to connect visitors with not only our roots, but to the House of Light exhibit as well.
Special programing will take place every day from August 27th through September 1st in honor of Jacksonport’s history. Visitors can enjoy the 1872 Courthouse Museum and the Artifact Management Collection Facility on Friday August 29th. Various other special programming can also be enjoyed throughout the week. Special programs include nature hikes, history programs, and stories about Jacksonport’s founders. Headlining2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. A RIVER LEGACY – CONFLUENCE CONNECTION
Join a park interpreter and take a hike to the confluence of the White and Black rivers. Learn how these rivers have shaped Jacksonport’s legacy and will continue to shape its future. Meeting place: Campground
Admission: Free
Thursday, August 28
10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. THE FOODS OF OUR FATHERS – A LEGACY WEEK PROGRAM
Explorers, Pioneers, and Native Americans that settled in this area of the White River found a place rich in natural resources including wild game, native fruits, and edible plants. Join a park interpreter to discover the richness that was found in the area and helped the settlers survive until their first crops came in. Meeting place: The Picnic Area
Admission: Free
2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. THE TUNSTALL BOWIE KNIFE
Learn about the Tunstall Bowie Knife and discover why it is named after Jacksonport founder Thomas Todd Tunstall. Also see up close pictures of the knife, hear the story of where this infamous knife has been, and the long road it took back to Jackson County. Meeting place: Campground Admission: Free
Friday, August 29
10 a.m. – 10:45 p.m. PRESERVING THE LEGACY – SPECIAL COLLECTIONS TOUR
Discover the unique history behind Jacksonport State Park’s collection and the legacy of preservation that continues today. Learn the history of the park’s collection, experience a behind-the-scenes tour of the park’s Collection Management Facility, and view a demonstration of how the park cares for its treasures. Meeting place: Visitor Center
Admission: $3 adults, $1 children ages 6-12, under 6 free
Legacy Week at Jacksonport State Park is the Preller House of Light photo display. This traveling exhibit is a collection of professional photographs from the 1890s to the 1930s. Taken by Hugo and Gayne Preller, these pictures are thought to be the largest collection of its kind west of the Mississippi. This display is free to tour in the Jacksonport courthouse through Labor Day weekend. Come out this week and join Jacksonport State Park as it connects to its roots for Legacy Week.
Wednesday, August 27
10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. CELEBRATE LEGACY WEEK – GRANDMOTHER’S TRUNK
Mary, dressed as a frontier woman, talks about traveling to southwest Arkansas from North Carolina in 1855. She will display and discuss the items that she brought with her from North Carolina, what they mean to her, and how she uses those items in her home. Meeting place: Jacksonport Courthouse
Admission: Free
2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. THE NATURE OF JACKSONPORT
Discover an appreciation of the nature around us. No telling what you might find right behind the next tree. Birds, bugs, butterflies, and plants of all kinds. What did early residents find here that can still be found here? Meeting place: Tunstall Trailhead
Admission: Free
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. SPECIAL LEGACY TOUR OF JACKSONPORT COURTHOUSE
Come out to Jacksonport and enjoy a special guided tour of the 1872 courthouse and museum. In the tour, you will have the opportunity to see exhibits dedicated to the area before the courthouse, what a 1870s county clerk’s office looked like, learn what cutting edge technology looked like in 1900, and hear about the many uses of the courthouse after the county seat moved to Newport. Meeting place: Jacksonport Courthouse
Admission: Free
Saturday, August 30
2 p.m. – 3 p.m. NATURE JEOPARDY
Here is a chance for you and your family to be in the “hot seat!” Bring your whole family to this fun game and challenge your brain on every aspect of the nature of Arkansas. Meet a park interpreter at the campground for an hour of fun and intriguing brainstorming. Meeting place: Campground
Admission: Free
8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. OWL PROWL
Meet a park interpreter in the campground for an evening hike down the Tunstall Riverwalk to see if we can call up any of these magnificent hunters. Part of this hike is in the dark, so closed-toe shoes are required and a flashlight is suggested. Meeting place: Campground
Admission: Free
Sunday, August 31
4 p.m. – 5 p.m. MAKING NATIVE AMERICAN PINCH POTS
Archeologists tell us that all Native American peoples made clay pinch pots to use as storage containers. Join a park interpreter at the picnic area to make and decorate your own authentic pinch pot to take home with you. Meeting place: Picnic Area
Admission: Free
Monday, September 1
10 a.m.-11 a.m. The Medicine Trail:
The Explorers, Pioneers, and Native Americans were skillful in the use of medicinal herbs. Join a park interpreter at Tunstall Trail Head for an easy stroll around the area to discover, identify, and learn about, a few of the medicinal plants growing at Jacksonport State Park.
Meeting place: Campground
Admission: Free
2 p.m.- 3 p.m. Snakes of the Alluvial Plain
Join a park interpreter and learn about the different snakes that live in the Delta region of Arkansas. Learn about some common misconceptions and possibly even get to see and touch a live snake!
Meeting place: Campground
Admission: Free
For information contact the park interpreter at Jacksonport State Park, 205 Avenue Street, Newport, Arkansas, 72112 or telephone: (870) 523-2143. Email: matt.manos@arkansas.gov This event has limited accessibility for visitors with disabilities please call for more information.
