Ozark Folk Center

We toured the Ozark Folk Center. The best way to describe it might be as a permanent crafts fair run by the Arkansas State Park System.

We walked from hut to hut to see artisans practice their crafts. From candle making to blacksmithing to quilting. For us the most interesting copper shop. They showed us how the color copper by heating it. Different temperatures of heat causes different colors.

The other thing that really caught my attention was the log cabin that had been donated and moved to the Folk Center. The cabin was maybe 12 x 12 and had been used (lived in) until 1962. From 1902 to 1962 a family and lived on the 1 room cabin. The oldest of the 6 children is still alive and living in a more modern home on the family land.

Of all the things we were told, the most astonishing was that there were 2 nearby communities (towns) that did not get electricity until 1973. The last 2 towns in Arkansas to get electricity.Read more