The Delta Cultural Center in downtown

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phil ...

, is a cultural center and

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the culture of the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. They also partner with other cultural organizations to interpret different cultural elements. The center consists of three buildings: *A Visitors Center which houses an interactive exhibition of Delta music including the

King Biscuit Blues Festival The King Biscuit Blues Festival is an annual, multi-day blues festival, held in Helena, Arkansas, United States. History The name of the festival comes from ''King Biscuit Time'', which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson I ...

and the broadcast facilities for King Biscuit Time which is the longest running

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

radio program in the nation. *The Train Depot, a former Union Pacific station, at Natchez and Missouri Street, houses exhibits on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in Helena including the 1863 Battle of Helena, Union occupation of the area, slave experiences, and women in Civil War Helena. The Train Depot also has exhibits on the history of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

including the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and exhibits on Delta agriculture and Native American history. This c. 1915 Craftsman/Classical Revival building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

*The Moore-Hornor House, at 323 Beech Street, is a red brick

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

-style home built in 1859, and is also listed on the National Register. The back yard of the home saw fierce hand-to-hand fighting during the Battle of Helena in the Civil War.

References

External links

Delta Cultural Center website
1990 establishments in Arkansas African-American museums in Arkansas Arkansas Heritage Trails System History museums in Arkansas History of Arkansas Music museums in Arkansas Museums established in 1990 Museums in Helena, Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Phillips County, Arkansas Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Helena Former railway stations in Arkansas {{Arkansas-museum-stub

See also

References

External links