Visitors Guide to Attractions
in Clay County, Arkansas
Clay County is the northern terminus of Arkansas’ Crowley's Ridge Parkway National Scenic Byway. Visitors to the region can explore what the area looked like before most of the region was turned into agricultural fields at Chalk Bluff Battlefield Park which also interprets a Civil War battle along a barrier free hiking trail. Another gem in the region is the combined site of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center and Matilda & Karl Pfeiffer Museum & Study Center which explores aspects of culture, history and nature in northeast Arkansas.
Chalk Bluff Battlefield Park
St. Francis, Arkansas
The town of Chalk Bluff, now long gone, was the site of several skirmishes during the Civil War, the most significant of which was the May 1 to May 2, 1863 action as General John S. Marmaduke retreated from an unsuccessful raid into Missouri. The battle and the town's history are interpreted though historical markers placed along a paved walking trail. The park also offers handicapped accessible picnic tables and restrooms.
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center
Piggott, Arkansas
The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center includes a barn-studio associated with Ernest Hemingway and the family home of his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. Areas of emphasis for the museum and educational center include literature of the period, 1930s world events, agriculture and family lifestyles, family relationships and development of Northeast Arkansas during the Depression and New Deal eras. This site is operated by Arkansas State University and also serves as the Visitors' Center for the northern terminus of Crowley's Ridge Parkway, Arkansas's first National Scenic Byway.
Matilda & Karl Pfeiffer Museum
Piggott, Arkansas
The Matilda & Karl Pfeiffer Museum & Study Center is adjacent to the Hemingway Barn-Studio. The Center displays the Matilda Pfeiffer minerals/geode collection of more than 1400 specimens and the Pfeiffer Native American Artifact Collection. The Center’s Museum Library features more than 1600 books. The grounds have evolved from the grasslands of a former dairy to a preserve of native Arkansas plants.
Piggott Post Office Mural
Piggott, Arkansas
The Piggott Post Office is one of 21 Arkansas post offices that had murals installed in their lobbies between 1939 and 1942. Daniel Rhodes was commissioned to create a mural with the theme of lauding the significance of airmail for small, isolated communities in rural America. The mural depicts a scene of extolling the ideas of communication.
Rector Community Museum
Rector, Arkansas
The Rector Community Museum is located in the Rector Public Library and is committed to expanding the understanding of Rector's history and its place in American society with its collection of artifacts and information that document the area's heritage.
Rector Mural
Rector, Arkansas
Painted by local artist Sandy Midkiff, the mural is an Americana representation of the town's landmarks and its role as a farming community; prints are available for sale at the Rector Community Center located on US-49.
Pumpkin Hollow
Piggott, Arkansas
Pumpkin Hollow is a leading provider of family friendly farm fun. Pumpkin Hollow features a gourd trellis, pumpkins, gourds, farm animals, hay slides, pony, train and hay rides, a cornfield maze, pig scrambles, and other special events. Open late September through early November.
Nearby Attractions
Bootheel Missouri
The Missouri Bootheel is the southeastern most part of the state and is composed of the counties of Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot. Explore what the region once was like at the area’s many conservation areas. Learn the history of New Madrid, the great earthquakes of 1812-13, the role the town played in the Civil War, and the town’s history at several museums and historic sites in the town. Get a great view of the Mississippi from New Madrid’s riverfront. Other regional history can be found in museums in the towns of Kennett and Malden.
Northeast Arkansas along the Great River Road
Northeastern Arkansas along the Mississippi River offers its visitors a variety of attractions. The downtown districts of Blytheville and Osceola have distinctive architecture in their downtown districts. The small communities of Manila and Earle have county museums covering the history and culture of the region. At Sans Souci Landing visitors can get a great up close view of the Mississippi River. Nature lovers will find plenty to do at Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge.
Western Tennessee
The Western Tennessee counties of Lake, Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale, and Tipton offers it visitors a variety of historical, natural, and cultural activities. History can be found everywhere in Western Tennessee at such places as Fort Pillow State Historic Park, the Alex Haley Home and Interpretive Center, and many county museums. Nature can be explored at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee’s largest natural lake, and at Fort Pillow State Historic Park as well as the Tipton County Museum, Veterans Memorial & Nature Center. Unique architecture can be seen at the Tipton and Lauderdale County courthouses and their surrounding downtown districts and Confederate soldier monuments dot the landscape. Theater lovers will delight in the atmosphere of the Ruffin Theater in Covington.
For Travelers Heading Up the River
The Mississippi Meets the Ohio River Region
After the Mississippi River passes St. Louis it begins to change character. When the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois it is halfway on its journey to the sea. It is here that the brown muddy water of the Mississippi begins to mingle with the clearer water of the Ohio. Without the locks and dams the Mississippi begins to wind and curve so much so that the distance by water from Cape Girardeau to the Gulf of Mexico is twice the distance as a crow flies. The region where the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River is an area of transition in several respects both in terms of the flora and fauna but the culture begins to take on that of the Deep South. The Meeting the Ohio region of the Middle Mississippi River Valley offers it visitors a wide variety of options of activities to do and sites to see. Whether you’re looking for historical or cultural sites or a place to enjoy nature you’ll find it in this part of the country.
