TWO RIVERS MUSEUM

     For several years, the Little River County Historical Society needed extra room for the artifacts that were being donated, and the Hunter Coulter House was too small. Clayton Castleman and John Finley looked at various buildings and the board of the Historical Society at the meetings they discussed the possibility of adding a building for purchase.

     In August 2005, the Historical Society Board agreed to purchase the buildings at the corner of Constitution Avenue which is Highway 71, and Main Street from David and Debbie Boone for a Museum.

    They were discussing a name, and John Finley suggested the name of Two Rivers, a designation that had been used in referring to Little River County because of the two rivers that form the northern and southern boundary and seemed appropriate. The board agreed with  his recommendation, and approved the name of Two Rivers Museum.

     The title to the property was transferred from the David and Debbie Boone to the Little River County Historical Society in August, 2005. A grant was received from Ashgrove, which provided the initial down payment.

     During this time, Chef, Brandon Thrash visited John Finley and discussed the possibility of having a Gala for a fund raiser. He had been involved in fund raising Galas in Tulsa and was agreeable to donating his talents to a Two Rivers Gala fund raiser for the museum. The Board voted to accept his offer and one of our principal fund raiser, the "Two Rivers Gala" was started with the first one in 2005. This has been a success each year, and has one of the major sources of funds for payment of the museum.

     Other grants and have been received, and the Texarkana Area Community Foundation has taken the museum as one of their major projects, with a grant of $3,000.00 for each of the last several years, with a proposed challenge grant this past year in the same amount. Other fund raisers have been the Chilin on Main each fall, and Step Back in time Dinner in March of each year.

     In June of 2005, there was a special exhibit entitled "Things with which We Labored", which showcased an old school room, kitchen and dinette, wash day with an old wash pot, etc. Most of this information concerning the Two Rivers is in the Ashdown History book at page 183.

     The museum was closed after the "Land O' Toys" exhibit in 2005, and after what seemed a long time, was reopened in September 2007. The lower levels have been completely remodeled and restored. The upper floors have yet to restored, and await funding.