Concerned Citizens of Faulkner County believed that their county should have a permanent repository for its history, so in 1992 they petitioned the county’s Quorum Court for a County Museum. In August of that same year the Faulkner County Museum Commission was created with the passing of Ordinance 92-16. Since the ordinance did not include a building or funding, the committee began raising funds and collecting artifacts between the years 1992 and 1995, while searching for a home. In 1995, the Faulkner County Library, which was housed in the historic 1896 County Jail, moved into their current location on Tyler Street in Conway, freeing up that building. This historic structure was located on the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Conway, making it the perfect location for the Faulkner County Museum with the opening of its doors to the public in the year 1997. During the first few years, the only funding of the museum came through grants and private donations. In 2001 the Museum Committee petitioned the Quorum Court for funding to insure the continued survival of the Museum. After several meetings the Quorum Court granted the Museum a 1- mill voluntary tax with ordinance 01-11 in April of that year. Currently the Museum is funded through voluntary millage, private donations from the Friends of the Museum’s annual memberships, and corporate donations. The Museum staff is comprised of one full-time director and approximately 20 enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers. |