BRTC’s Project REACH site located at Dalton has set April 2 as its reopening date. The REACH site will be open on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and every second Saturday of the month from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. throughout October.
Project REACH, Researching Early Arkansas Cultural Heritage, is a historic preservation project conducted by Black River Technical College. Through multi-year grant funding from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC), the restoration of two early log structures from Arkansas’ Territorial era have been restored and are available for tour.
The two donated structures were brought to the attention of BRTC as a result of the Early Arkansas Settlement Study. This study was funded in part by a grant awarded to the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas with funding provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage. In the course of this 2003-2004 study, the Rice-Upshaw House (built in 1828) and the Looney-French House (built in 1833) were both identified by dendrochronology to have been constructed during the Arkansas territorial period.
Each structure was identified as a unique Arkansas example of early log-building traditions. Both houses, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, were donated, along with significant items of material culture, to BRTC by descendants of the families who built them.
The REACH site is located at 4800 Hwy 93, Pocahontas, AR. For more information, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (870) 248-4026.