Siloam Springs Museum

06/19/2026

⚠️ We now sell Digital flash drives that contain a searchable PDF version of local historian Maggie Aldridge Smith's book "Hico A heritage : Siloam Springs History".

This book is rare to find in person, but with this handy flash drive you can enjoy all 344 pages of Maggie's book, spanning from pre-history to 1976 when the book was published to celebrate the bicentennial.

50 years later, this book is still the gold standard of Siloam Springs History!

Click the link below to order yours today! Available for shipping or pick up!

This USB Flash drive contains a searchable PDF version of local historian Maggie Aldridge Smith’s 1976 book “Hico A Heritage : Siloam Springs History”. 344 Pages.

06/19/2026

For : On June 19, 1865, two months after the Confederacy surrendered and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops finally arrived in Texas, the westernmost Confederate state, and spread the word there that freedom was the law of the land.

About 70 years later, workers from the Federal Writers' Project arm of the Works Progress Administration started traveling around the U.S. collecting the stories of elderly Americans who still had firsthand accounts of being enslaved. Many of the people who were interviewed were also photographed. The Library has preserved these stories and images.

This photo is of Betty Simmons, who said she was more than 100 years old when she was interviewed in 1937 in Beaumont, Texas. She said she was married during slave times, and widowed, but was very happy that freedom came when it did because her enslavers were preparing to put her 3-year-old child to work in the fields.

Explore the narratives: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbloc

Image: Betty Simmons, Age about 100. Taken between 1936 and 1938. WPA Slave Narrative Project: Container, A932, vol. 16, part 4. Federal Writer's Project, United States Work Projects Administration (USWPA). Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

An old African American woman in a button down dress stands in front of a chair with her hands clasped, looking at the camera. The chair is outside, positioned in front of a house. A younger woman stands on the porch behind her.

06/17/2026

If you enjoyed our featuring photos from the old Forest Park resort, read more about it's history here in our !

This week’s issue of Found in the Archives tells the history of Forest Park and its long-lost lake.

06/15/2026

Save the date!

Next Saturday, at Heritage Day 2026, we'll be celebrating Siloam Springs' birthday! 🥳

Join us as we sit down for a conversation with Cecil about his work, his life, and his love of Siloam Springs.

Come see new and updated exhibits and artifacts, and a new temporary exhibit of local artist Cecil Savage’s artwork and creations.

He is full of stories, so you won’t want to miss this!

06/13/2026

As we continue into the heat of Summer, today we feature Siloam Springs' first public swimming pool, the Natatorium. The top photo is the view from the Mount Olive Street Bridge looking downstream. Below the building on the right is the Natatorium.

The bottom photo shows the pool and bathhouse in more detail. This facility was in existence from about 1920 to about 1940 and stood about where the station 2 firehouse parking lot is today.

At this time, there were also canoes that could be rented for use on this part of Sager Creek.

06/13/2026

We had a great time at Kids Day at the Farmers Market here in beautiful downtown Siloam Springs! We gave away bubbles, post cards and green bean starters!

06/13/2026

We want to thank Chuck McClary for his video highlighting the Museum, and honoring Don Warden, who was our director of collections for 35 years.

06/12/2026

Make sure to come by and see us at Kids Dat at the Siloam Springs Farmers Market !

We'll be having some goodies to give away 🕶 as well as Museum merchandise and information!

06/10/2026

We want to thank DaySpring for their generous donation of these beautiful display cabinets to the Museum. We are grateful for the 47 years of business that they brought to our town to enrich our community and economy.

We are working through our archives to find exhibit items for display, so please pardon our dust!

We also want to thank Siloam Springs Moving for their hard work delivering and securing our new displays.

We will be having a Day Spring exhibit ribbon cutting event soon, so keep a look out for dates and information on that event.