Friday was definitely the day for visiting history. First it was the Crater of Diamonds, to find precious and semi-precious stones. Then it was a trip to the historic town of Washington, AR and the state park to see how things looked from 1824 to 1889.
Washington, AR is a lovely museum village that preserves and interprets the history of the 19th century town. At that time Washington was a major commercial and professional center in southwest Arkansas. It was the home of the Bowie Knife and a major stopping point for travelers heading down the Southwest Trail as well as serving as the Confederate State Capital of Arkansas from 1863 to 1865. The town is being fully restored so that it shows what life was like in the mid 19th century of the south.
As we drove into town we could see some beautifully restored building and some with scaffolding around it in the process of being restored. There are many historic homes, buildings and museums that depict life as it was in that era. At different times of the year, the town has tours given by various staff in period clothing. The tours show the life of a thriving community in the 1800s.
We decided to have lunch at Williams’ Tavern Restaurant. It opened in 1832 and is fully restored. Currently it serves delicious home cooked Southern meals and desserts. I had fried green tomatoes for the first time and they are delicious. After a huge fresh ham and cheese sandwich on delicious bread, I indulged in fresh made peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. You just can’t stay on any kind of good eating schedule with food as tantalizing and tasteful as this was. Along with the homemade corn bread and muffins and several glasses of sweet tea, we both managed to stuff ourselves to the point of wanting to take a short nap before we headed home. Instead we decided to walk around the town a bit… it helped some.
We checked out the outside of the county courthouse and several of the homes in the immediate area. In front of one of the homes was a horse and buggy that can be rented for a tour of the town. During the year there are several tours and events depicting the town history. We had just missed the Annual Jonquil Festival which was held this year on March 19-21. Our waitress (whom we secretly call "Scarlette" only because we didn't get her real name) told us this year there was so much rain the festival was actually rained out.
There are also events that depict Civil War times; Frontier Days and what looks like a great event, Trial by Jury Dinner. You have a delicious dinner at the Williams’ Tavern and then adjourn to the historic Courthouse. There you take part in a living history drama where you judge the guilt or innocence of a man accused of an actual crime that took place in the courtroom. They encourage you to wear 19th century costumes or you can just wear regular clothing. It sounds like it would be so much fun and wearing 19th century costumes would get you in the mood.
The city also has several different tours and events for school children both during the school year and in various day camps during the summer. It would be a great way to introduce kids to the life and times of a very different era.
One of the events that we have booked on our calendar is Christmas in Washington. From December 6 to 18 they dress up the homes and buildings in period decorations. The whole town looks like it did in the middle 19th century. People dress in period costumes and there are carriage rides thru town to see the decorations. The even put big red bows on the horses to add a bit of festivity.
There is so much history in this area of the south. We are definitely going to take in some of the history and enjoy events and places so we can see how others lived in different times.
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