The Arkansas Preservation Awards will take place in Little Rock on January 26, 2024, in the Still Ballroom of the Robinson Center at 426 W. Markham Street. Historic Washington Foundation will be honored along with ten additional recipients in categories like Heritage Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Education, and more.

Tickets for the event are $150 each; table sponsorships and patron tickets are also available. For a complete list of recipients and to reserve your seats, please visit our website.

Seating is limited; please RSVP by January 19!

Behind the Big House will take place February 9-10 at the Taylor House historic site in Winchester, AR. Behind the Big House looks beyond stately antebellum homes to explore the history and experience of enslaved people with the goal of raising awareness of this often understudied aspect of our past. The Taylor House, a property of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, was one such “Big House,” and the 2024 program will highlight the importance of involving descendant communities in site interpretation, foodways, and archeological research.

The program will feature lectures and educational sessions as well as demonstrations on cooking and food preservation.

>>Click here to learn more!

The Women in Preservation Virtual Speaker Series features women who are working to save historic places. Thanks to generous support from DEMX Architecture, all programs are free.

>>View the complete roster of 2024 speakers

Our 2024 series launches Tuesday, February 13 at 3:30 p.m. with a program by preservation consultant Amber Jones of Little Rock. Amber specializes in Rehabilitation Tax Credits, National Register Listings, and Facade Easements. Amber has been preparing Federal and State tax credit documents and facilitating the sale of the Arkansas Tax Credit for property owners since 2010. To date, she has completed more than 400 projects with property owners receiving over $20 million in Federal and State Tax Credits, collectively, with about $14 million in State Credits funded to cash. She has projects statewide in Arkansas. 

>>Register for the webinar

>>Watch previous webinars on YouTube

Our annual Sustainer Circle appreciation event featured a progressive dinner in Hot Springs. We began with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the home of board member Bart Stafford and his wife, Alix, moved on to Superior Bathhouse for a buffet dinner, and then ventured across the street for coffee and dessert at The Avenue inside the renovated Waters Hotel.

Sustainers are members who've pledged continuing support over a period of years, which makes it possible to expand our programming and plan for the future.

>>Learn more about Sustainer Circle membership

And for more photos from this lovely evening, see our recap on Facebook or Instagram!

Our 2023 Ramble kicked off with a full bus of jolly preservation buffs bright and early on November 4th for a trip to Blytheville and back along the Great River Road National Scenic Byway.

We made stops at Marion, where we toured the Sultana Disaster Museum and the recently restored Crittenden Co. Bank & Trust Building; Blytheville, where we were treated to a BBQ lunch inside the Historic Greyhound Bus Depot, toured the restored and expanded Mississippi County Courthouse - Chickasawba District, and visited the Blytheville Air Force Base Exhibition.

After Blytheville, we made our way to Wilson, passing through Osceola for a jaunt around its historic square. At Wilson, we began at the Hampson Archeological Museum State Park, took private tours of the new Louis Hotel, had a walk about the Square, and finished with dinner at The Grange catered by the Wilson Cafe.

Want to revisit the complete tour with us? Check out our Instagram story highlight! 

Preserve Arkansas members gathered at The ARTSpace on Main in Pine Bluff on November 16 for our annual Membership meeting. After a reception and brief business meeting, a tour of The ARTSpace and adjacent ART WORKS gave members a chance to see this 2021 Preservation Award-winning project of the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas.

Special thanks to our retiring, re-elected, and incoming Board members: Kathy Boyette, Pat Carroll, Stacy Smith, and Mandy Welch (retiring); Dr. Suzzette Goldmon, Joy Blankenship, and Dr. Matthew Rooney (re-elected); and Dr. George Betts, Gina White Jarrett, Ruth O'Loughlin, and Lisa Skiles (newly elected).

>>Learn more and become a member here