Tulsa museum's collection heading to Arkansas
By Associated Press on Sep 16, 2013, at 8:42 AM
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NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The artifacts and documents from an Oklahoma museum dedicated to the history of the Arkansas River are heading to a maritime museum in North Little Rock, museum officials said.
The Arkansas River Historical Museum at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is closing, but an education center will open in its place, said Susan McWatters, the maritime museum education coordinator at the Tulsa, museum.
The museum's collection — which includes journals, photographs and American Indian artifacts — will be sent to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Monday.
"What we're doing on our end is closing down the museum to give it to (North Little Rock) and opening up an education center," to be named the Oklahoma Maritime Education Center, McWatters said. "That's the whole reason this transition is going on."
The North Little Rock museum primarily focuses on military items, with the USS Razorback submarine serving as a focal point. The museum is located in downtown North Little Rock, across the Arkansas River from Little Rock.
"It's another museum for North Little Rock to bring more people into central Arkansas," said Steve Owen, a member of the Arkansas museum's board of directors. "The maritime museum is more military in nature. The Arkansas River Historical Museum is more about the river's commerce and recreational aspects, things of that nature."
The materials will be moved to North Little Rock within the next few weeks, officials said.
Greg Zonner, the Arkansas museum's director, said the collection will temporarily be stored in a warehouse until the maritime museum space is reconfigured for the new items.
"Their museum up there (in Oklahoma) wasn't that big," Zonner said. "They have a lot of artifacts. We'll condense and consolidate it a little bit. I think it will be a good fit. It will open up our educational opportunities for school groups. This expands what we offer and gives us a chance to explore the history of the Arkansas River itself a little more in-depth."
Local
The bus had two occupants, a driver and an 8-year-old girl. The driver had a suspended license, police said.
For more than a generation, this rural community has been haunted by a mystery: What happened to a group of teens who disappeared in the early 1970s after heading to a high school football game?
