Powhatan Historic State Park Upcoming Events
Saturday, March 09, 2019
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The Great American Cleanup at Powhatan
Meeting Place: Black River Picnic Area
Participate in one of the largest annual cleanup events in America! Do your part to help keep Arkansas beautiful and your state park clean! Join the park interpreter at the picnic area to help remove litter and trash from the park. The park will provide trash bags, gloves, and more. Prizes are available to those that can remove the most! Get your church, club, scout group or other organization involved.
Admission: Free
Saturday, March 16, 2019
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Dutch Oven Workshop
Meeting Place: Courthouse
Have you ever wanted to learn how to use a Dutch oven in an authentic way? Come join park staff this St. Patrick’s Day weekend to experience 19th century style cooking and join in on preparing, cooking, and eating, traditional Irish recipes! Participants will leave with a recipe booklet and the know-how of cast-iron cooking. Reservations required and space is limited! For questions and reservations, please call (870) 878-6765.
Admission: 25.00
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Powhatan Spring Break Day 1: Prehistoric Powhatan
Meeting Place: Courthouse
Get those kids out of the house this Spring Break! Powhatan Historic State Park will take your kids through the history of Arkansas and Powhatan with a weeklong schedule of programs and activities. The first day of our Spring Break programming will focus on the prehistory of Northeast Arkansas with a look into the Native Americans that once called this area home.Schedule of the Day:10-11:30 a.m: Pottery – Learn the basics of pottery with a park interpreter at the courthouse. Participants will learn both the pinch pot method and the coil method. Each participant can leave with their creation at the end of the program. A small materials fee will apply. 1- 2:30 p.m: Native Hunting Tools – What’s an Atlatl? Learn how early native people hunted down game before firearms. Participants will get a chance to use an atlatl, an ancient spear throwing device and other prehistoric hunting tools.
Admission Costs Vary: Free
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Powhatan Spring Break Day 2: Passage to Powhatan
Meeting Place: Black River Picnic Area
The Black River was the most important resource to the people of Powhatan. Rivers played an important part in settlement all across Arkansas as well. The second day of our Spring Break programming will feature Arkansas’s numerous rivers and their roles in settling Arkansas. We’ll discuss river ecology, past and present, and what we can do to help preserve our historic waterways today. (10-11 a.m.)In the afternoon, (1-2 p.m.), join the park interpreter for an in-depth look at the technology that enabled settlers to reach Powhatan and other points across the state. The steam engine and steamboats revolutionized the world and led to rapid development. Get a chance to see how a steam engine operates, as well learn about the many different kinds of boats that went up and down the Black River in its heyday.
Admission: Free
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Powhatan Spring Break Day 3: Powhatan Pioneers
Meeting Place: Log Cabin
The third day of our Spring Break programming will focus on those early pioneers who cut Powhatan from the dense forests along the riverbank. Meet at the log cabin to participate in the following:10-10:30 a.m: The Ficklin Family and Early Settlers – Perhaps no family is more responsible for the growth of Powhatan than the Ficklins. Learn more about this early family and their role in Powhatan and across the state. We’ll also discuss other notable early settlers.1-2 p.m: Log Cabin Living – Learn more about what it was like to live in a rustic log cabin. Try your hand at building your own miniature version, and get an idea of the work involved.2-3 p.m: Brick Tricks – Powhatan boasted numerous brick buildings in its heyday. In the 1800s, it wasn’t as simple as picking up a pallet of bricks at the hardware store. Learn how bricks were made right here in town with native clay and get a chance to make one yourself.
Admission: Free
Friday, March 22, 2019
Powhatan Spring Break Day 4: Powhatan Prosperity
Meeting Place: Varies
By the late 1800s, Powhatan was a prosperous town that boasted factories, schools, numerous churches and businesses. On Day 4, learn about the prosperous days of Powhatan and get a feel for what life was like.10-11 a.m: A Day at School – The people of Powhatan knew the importance of education and the town’s elite were educated at the Powhatan Male and Female Academy. Meet at the school to learn what a day in school in 1890 might have been like.1-2 p.m: Powhatan Pearls – Did you know Powhatan was once a central part of the pearl industry? Fortunes were made along the riverbank. Learn about the pearling and shelling industry along the Black River and how we can still see the impacts from it today. Meet at the courthouse.3-4:30 p.m: A prosperous town has time for leisure and no game was more popular in the late 1800s than baseball. Learn the rules of 1880s baseball and play a game with the park interpreter. Meet at the picnic area.
Admission: Free
Saturday, March 23, 2019
10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Symbols of Arkansas
Meeting Place: Courthouse
Why does the flag look like that? What’s so special about a mockingbird? Where does aluminum come from? In this program, students gain an insight into some of our state symbols (including the state flag and seal) and what they tell us about our history.
Admission: Free
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Powhatan Historic State Park
870-878-6765
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.