ARKANSAS COUNTY CELEBRATES AMERICA 250

June 24, 2026

by Submitted

Arkansas County and the Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie are planning events on Friday, July 3 in celebration of America250. Events will kick off that morning at the Southern District Courthouse on the historic DeWitt Square.

County Judge Eddy Best and a team are planning historical presentations and exhibits covering the history of Arkansas’s first county. That history includes Hernando DeSoto’s travels, the earliest records of native Americans dating back to the mid-1500’s, the first and most significant European settlement at Arkansas Post, and the creation of Arkansas County in 1813 as a part of the Missouri Territory legislation. Overviews of two Civil War battles, the Battle of St. Charles and the Battle of Arkansas Post, will also be shared.

The Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie in Stuttgart will host a public grand opening of their new exhibit “Rooted on the Grand Prairie.” Taking notes from the Freedom Train of 1976, museum staff will display exhibits highlighting seven Grand Prairie residents who made tremendous impacts far beyond their local communities. Exhibits will highlight:

Eddie Boone – Stuttgart athlete who went on to be the winningest coach in AAA’s highest ranking region

A.P. “Pete” Finken – Engineer, artist, German immigrant and American patriot

Wanda Northcutt Hartz – Local wife, mother, farmer, and state representative who helped fund medical research with the Mixed Drink Tax 1989.

Anna Burns Stoops – Early female pharmacist and entrepreneur who was known 100 years ago as “Arkansas’ Best Known Business Woman”

The Trio of Thad McCollum, Dr. Harold Glenn, and Verne Tindall – local businessmen, waterfowl enthusiasts, and founders of the Duck Calling Contest.

The museum will also host “Tales from the Trail” for a telling of memories from the 1976 Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage. The journey of the Arkansas Wagon began in Springdale, AR in March 1976 and concluded in Valley Forge, PA on July 4. The tagline for that pilgrimage was “So your children can tell their children,” and that is exactly what will happen when a reunion of the 1976 trail participants and descendants share their experiences in a roundtable setting. The Arkansas Wagon is a permanent and prominent part of the Museum’s collections.

Events on July 3 will commence in DeWitt with the Pledge of Allegiance and historical readings at 9am. The courthouse is located at 101 Court Square in DeWitt.

“Rooted on the Grand Prairie” will open at the Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie at 11am and “Tales from the Trail” will take place 1-2pm. The Museum is located at 921 E. 4th Street at the corner of Park Ave. / US Hwy 165 in Stuttgart. Admission is free to all.