Arkansas rural museum features local wonders

The Associated Press

POCAHONTAS — There was a fire in the skies over Randolph County in July 1859.

A thousand-pound meteor, the largest ever to be found in Arkansas, dropped from the heavens into an embankment near a channel between a small lake and the Black River.

The meteor is now on display in the Randolph County Courthouse. Its story and many others from the surrounding area are told at the Randolph County Heritage Museum.

“It’s for the people of Pocahontas and the surrounding communities,” said Lillian Gogan, who works during the day at the museum.

Opened in 2006 on the courthouse square in Pocahontas, the museum features many exhibits donated by locals.

Displays include early Native American arrowheads and other pieces, a fish room, textiles and a medicine room. One case is dedicated to the world-famous “Wonder Horse” invented by Randolph County native William Baltz. Baltz fitted a wooden horse with springs, and it became a staple of toy collections for generations of children.

A 164-pound gar pulled from a local waterway is also prominently displayed.

“This museum is fabulous,” Wayne Eggleston, 69, said as he gazed at the fish. “I like coming in here.”

In one room there’s a picture of a man hanged from the old Norris Bridge at the intersection of Bettis Street and present day U.S. Highway 67.

The man, George Cheverie, hanged from the bridge for two days after he killed a local marshal in 1901. Cheverie was held in the county jail but was led out and hanged.

Why did he kill the lawman? A dispute over the price of a log Cheverie had sold. Cheverie wanted $4 for the timber, and the marshal offered the going rate of $1, according to museum records.

Passersby took pictures of themselves next to the body as it swung in the breeze.

Founded in 1856, the credit for settling the area in Pocahontas goes to Dr. Ranson S. Bettis, and a memorial tombstone is in the building.

Area historian Cindy Robinett set up most of the displays in the museum, Gogan said. Arkansas’ first courthouse, school and oldest standing business are among the historical achievements of the rural county, according to local officials.

The building for the museum was a gift from Joe Martin. Admission is free.