Weather permitting the Searcy County Historical Society will meet, Friday evening, 7 p.m., Jan. 26, at the First Christian Church in Marshall. Thereisa Housley and Anthony DeVore will be presenting their recent work at the January meeting of the Searcy County Historical Society. They have worked together on several projects regarding the history of Searcy County, especially the Leslie and Marshall area.
The October meeting of the Searcy County Historical Society will be held at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 3 in the First Christian church. The topic will be Searcy County Properties on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently there are 52 properties located in Searcy County listed on the National Register of Historic Places and two on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places. Two sites are pre-contact archeological sites and the rest are buildings and houses, and all of them contribute significantly to Arkansas’ rich history. This talk will explain what characteristics a property needs to be included on the Registers and what being on the Registers means. A few properties will be highlighted, and you are encouraged to visit arkansasheritage.com to search for Searcy County properties and come with contributions of your personal knowledge of these properties to be added to the record.
The Searcy County Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 25, at Marshall’s First Christian Church. A different program be presented by Michelle Rathgaber, PhD, the Educational Outreach Coordinator for the Arkansas Archeological Survey. Over 12 years with the survey she has been involved wi6h disaster response, the Mississippian period in Arkansas, faunal analysis and promoting archeology to the public. In her presentation to the Historical Society, the participants will learn the basics of what was excavated at the Holman Springs site in southwest Arkansas in the summer of 2022 and 2023. They will then get an opportunity to get their hands dirty actually helping with the research. Participants will sort some of the washed artifacts from the excavation to get them ready for full analysis by the project archeologists in southwest Arkansas.
The Searcy County Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m., Friday, July 28, in Marshall’s First Christian Church. The program will be given by Searcy County Library personnel Tammy Bridwell, library director, and Nancy Hensley, genealogist, about the library’s publications and resources. As more people search for Searcy County history and connections, the library plays an increasingly important role. Under the new director, the genealogical section has become more organized and more easily researchable.
The Searcy County Historical Society usually meets the fourth Friday of the month, but the next meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Friday, June 30, in the First Christian Church. James Johnston will talk about books that have Searcy County history, geology and genealogy, starting with the 1858 Geological Reconnaissance of North Arkansas and Mollie Williams’ biography first published in 1902 and several books by various authors until the present. He will indicate which are still available and how to find them. Coffee and nibbles will be available.