Attractions in Arkansas' Timberlands Region

Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources/El Dorado Downtown -- Near El Dorado on Jan. 10, 1921, a geyser of "black gold" spewed far over the 112-foot derrick of Arkansas' first productive oil well. The town's population quickly skyrocketed, creating the need for a new courthouse, more business space and larger churches. The prosperity would subsequently spread through 10 south Arkansas counties as more oil and natural gas was discovered. At the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources at Smackover, the history of the state's "oil boom" is told through films, historic photographs, geological and other exhibits, oil-era memorabilia and an Oil Field Park, which displays derricks and pumping equipment. Seven miles away, El Dorado's thriving downtown, centered around the Neo-classic 1928 Union County Courthouse, contains architecturally significant churches and other impressive structures constructed in the 1920s and '30s and made possible by the new wealth. A diverse mix of shops, a variety of dining establishments and complementary landscaping and streetscape details have combined to make the area one of Arkansas' most attractive and popular downtowns. Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, 3853 Smackover Highway, (870) 725-2877, www.ArkansasStateParks.com/museumofnaturalresources. Downtown El Dorado, (870) 863-6113, www.boomtown.org.

Camden/McCollum-Chidester House -- In the spring of 1864, the Union Army briefly captured the town of Camden during a failed Civil War campaign. Gen. Frederick Steele occupied the McCollum-Chidester House at 926 Washington Street, then the home of stagecoach operator John T. Chidester. Now hosting public tours, the house is mostly furnished with antiques original to the Chidester family, who moved into the home in 1857. (870) 836-9243. Ten miles west of Camden on Ark. 76, Poison Spring Historic State Park preserves and interprets a battlefield of the Red River Campaign. (870) 685-2748, www.ArkansasStateParks.com/redrivercampaign. Civil War artifacts and displays on two of Camden's historic products, Camark pottery and Grapette soft drinks, are among exhibits housed in the Camden Visitors Center and Museum. 314 Adams S.W. (870) 836-6426.

Hope/Clinton Center -- On August 19, 1946, Bill Clinton, the nation's 42nd President, was born in the southwestern Arkansas town of Hope. He lived his first four years with his maternal grandparents in a house at 117 S. Hervey Street. Today, the two-and-one-half story, wood-frame structure built in 1917 in an American Foursquare design is the centerpiece of the Clinton Center. With input from Clinton's late mother, the house has been decorated with period furnishings to appear as it did when it served as the future chief executive's home. Guided tours are offered. (870) 777-4455, www.clintonbirthplace.com. Located in a restored 1912 railroad depot at Fourth and Division Streets, the Hope Visitors Center and Museum contains exhibits on Clinton, the town's history, railroad memorabilia, and the area's legacy of producing giant watermelons. (870) 722-2580. (Note: Old Washington State Park, listed below, is nine miles from Hope.)

Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge -- This 65,000-acre refuge in south central Arkansas, which contains the world's largest green-tree reservoir, is widely regarded as one of the state's best fishing venues. Other recreational options include hiking, wildlife observation and photography. Visitors center located five miles west of Crossett on U.S. 82. (870) 364-3167, http://felsenthal.fws.gov/.

Grandview Prairie Conservation and Education Center/Wildlife Management Area -- The nation's largest contiguous tract of blackland prairie in public ownership is contained within this 4,885-acre, multi-use area owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Outdoor recreation opportunities include fishing, seasonal hunting, hiking, and wildlife viewing. The limited availability of blackland prairie habitat makes wildflower walks and bird and butterfly watching of special interest at this site. In Hempstead County, two miles north of Columbus. 1-877-777-5580; http://www.agfc.com/wma_lakes/wma_rickevans_grandview.html.

Millwood State Park -- In 1966, the longest earthen dam in Arkansas was completed on the Little River, forming in a mostly forested valley a lake so broad it covered portions of four counties. Relatively shallow and thick with timber, Millwood Lake soon became a fishing hotspot. Today, the lake and its environs enjoy a reputation as one of Arkansas' top birding locations. Some 333 different species have been spotted in the area, including the first-ever Arkansas sightings for at least 15 of them. Millwood has attracted migratory sea birds and shorebirds seldom, if ever, seen elsewhere in the state; and due to its extreme southwestern Arkansas location, the lake is sometimes visited by species straying outside their normal ranges farther south and west. Campsites, a marina with watercraft rentals, a picnic area, trails and other amenities make Millwood State Park a great base for fishing and birding excursions. About nine miles east of Ashdown via Ark. 32. (870) 898-2800; www.ArkansasStateParks.com/millwood.

Old Washington Historic State Park -- Washington, Ark. was founded in 1824 on the Southwest Trail just 15 miles from the Red River, which then separated American lands from the Mexican territory known as Texas. Because of its border proximity, Washington played a role in Texas' 1835-36 war for independence. Evidence suggests that Sam Houston and others discussed plans for the revolt while Houston resided in one of the town's taverns in 1834. The town also served as Arkansas' Confederate capital after Union forces captured Little Rock in 1863. Old Washington Historic State Park preserves and showcases the town's architecture, history and pioneer culture. Park visitors can get a sense of 19th-century life in Arkansas by visiting such attractions as the 1836 courthouse that served as the Confederate capitol; the Edwards Weapons Museum, where more than 1,500 items include numerous pioneer-era rifles and pistols; a print museum featuring 19th-century printing equipment; a re-creation of a period blacksmith shop; and the Pioneer Cemetery. Authentically and splendidly furnished historic houses dating from the mid-1830s to the 1850s provide a glimpse of domestic life and contain many items -- furniture and ceramics in particular -- that are 19th-century treasures. Nine miles northwest of Hope via U.S. 278. (870) 983-2684; www.oldwashingtonstatepark.com.

Pine Bluff/Delta Rivers Nature Center -- The Delta Rivers Nature Center, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission facility, features exhibits that reveal the natural history of Arkansas' Delta region, while its hiking trails through 130 acres of woodland "bottoms" give visitors a first-hand look at the vegetation and wildlife characteristic of the area. Among the center's "living" exhibits are a 20,000-gallon "oxbow lake" aquarium containing native fish species; live snakes, turtles and alligators; and landscaping with wildflowers and other native plants. Other features include short historical and Delta "fly-over" films; numerous preserved specimens of the Delta's birds, mammals and fish; exhibits on the region's hunting and fishing tradition, the changing nature of Delta rivers and the importance of wetlands; and a gift shop stocked with nature-related items. Delta Rivers Nature Center, 1400 Black Dog Road. (870) 534-0011; www.deltarivers.org.

Pine Bluff has a number of other attractions to fill out a visit, including the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame (1 Convention Center Plaza, 800-536-7660); the Band Museum (423-25 Main St., 870-534-4676); the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Historical Museum (201 E. 4th St., 870-541-5402); the Arkansas Railroad Museum (E. Barraque off U.S. 65-B, 870-536-7600); and a collection of more than a dozen outstanding murals (various downtown sites, 870-536-8742). Visit www.pinebluffonline.com/mus_art.htm for more information on those attractions.

Texarkana -- This city's boosters sometimes refer to it as Texarkana USA because politically it is two towns with the same name -- one in Arkansas, one in Texas. What's more, it is named after three states: Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. The Arkansas-Texas boundary runs down the middle of State Line Avenue and passes through the State Line Post Office and Federal Building, where tourists often pose on Photographer's Island with one foot in each state. The Perot Theatre at 221 Main Street is a beautifully restored 1924 Italian Renaissance structure that hosts major performing artists and touring Broadway shows. The Texarkana Museums System operates the 1885 Ace of Clubs House at 420 Pine St., which is built in the shape of a playing card "club;" the Museum of Regional History at 219 State Line Ave.; and the interactive Discovery Place Museum at 215 Pine St., with exhibits focusing on science, history and human perception. The Texarkana Chamber of Commerce now has available compact discs and audio cassette tapes that visitors can use in their vehicles to follow a self-guided auto tour route to the city's best-known tourist attractions. General Texarkana information: (877) 275-5289; www.texarkana.org. Perot Theater: (903) 792-4992; www.trahc.org/perot.htm. Texarkana Museums System: (903) 793-4831; www.texarkanamuseums.org.