Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, Petroleum history museum in Smackover, United States.
The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources is a museum dedicated to the region's oil production history, utilizing over 25,000 square feet of exhibition space. It displays original equipment from the oil industry era, including gas pumps, derricks, and machinery that illustrate how the industry operated.
The museum commemorates the 1922 discovery of the Richardson Number 1 well, which marked the start of oil extraction in Smackover. This discovery transformed the region and attracted workers and businesses to the area.
The museum recreates a Broadway Street from the 1920s with period buildings that reflect how people lived and worked during the oil boom. This reconstruction gives a sense of daily life in that era and makes the past tangible.
Plan your visit for late morning hours to see the exhibits in full daylight and avoid crowds. The site is relatively modest in size, so a few hours are enough to explore everything thoroughly.
The museum still operates actual oil production machinery, including a 112-foot derrick and central power station that controls multiple wells. These working installations are rare and give visitors an uncommon look at how oil extraction actually functioned.
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