Arkansas - Central Delta Depot Museum

Brinkley, AR - The Central Delta Depot Museum in Brinkley (Monroe County) is an initiative of the Central Delta Historical Society, which was organized in the 1990s to preserve the history and heritage of the central Delta area. The museum's scope covers all of Monroe and parts of Woodruff, St. Francis, Prairie, Lee, Phillips, and Arkansas counties.

In February 2001, Union Pacific deeded the station to the city of Brinkley, which later gave a long-term lease for it to the Central Delta Historical Society. The groundbreaking ceremony for the restoration of the depot was held May 4, 2001. Welch Construction Company of Benton (Saline County) had the general contract, and work was completed in 2003. The museum opened in May of that year.

The Central Delta Depot Museum is a museum of general history, with an emphasis on the stories of the Rock Island and Cotton Belt rail lines that crossed at Brinkley. The museum gets some support from the city of Brinkley but otherwise depends on admission charges, donations, fundraisers, and grants to finance its operation.

On the museum grounds is the approximately 100-year-old frame depot that at one time was located at Monroe (Monroe County) on the Missouri Pacific rail line that connected Brinkley to Helena (Phillips County). Still another rail line, the White and Black River Railroad (owned in later years by Rock Island), provided service from Brinkley to Jacksonport (Jackson County).

Site URL: https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/central-delta-depot-museum-4083/
Date resource added: 2-Dec-2016
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