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Rediscovering Our Heritage The Eddie Mae Herron Center/Museum is a hidden treasure in Northeast Arkansas, educating and serving the community and surrounding areas with the significant of African American culture and history in Randolph County. The Eddie Mae Herron Center/Museum building for decades served as a haven for the black community in Randolph County. Located in the city of Pocahontas, Arkansas. The building originally organized as St. Mary’s AME Church in 1864 by small group of black people according to Arkansas Historical Record Survey/Church Inventory completed in 1941.Then beginning in 1948 the black church open their doors to the African American community as a place of learning and community activities. “The building has through the years housed many community events for African-American community” according to Breathaway Outdoors America. When the school took over the church, the church functioned as a school, Pocahontas Colored School. Mrs Eddie Mae Herron moved from Bigger, Arkanas; when her job as teacher at the Biggers school for Black children ended with the school closure. Mrs. Herron instructed black students in the local community and surrounding areas from 1948 till 1964. After school interrogation the building was used to service the community as a pre-school/day care and later years as a Senior Center where quilting, crafts, and other community activities took place from 1964 to 2000. Pat Johnson, Chair of Board of Directors, and former student of Miss Eddie Mae Herron has been a member of community for over 40 years. In November of 2000, Johnson organized those who were former students of Mrs. Eddie Mae Herron as well as members of the older generations, to create the “Eddie Mae Herron Center” Board of directors. This group was supported by Chamber of Commerce, the City of Pocahontas, Black River Technical College and many other community groups and organizations. Look at the infographics for Important Places Connected to Eddie Mae Herron Center/Museum. “My desire was to restore the building to its original condition, establishing it as a museum to tell the story of African American experience in Randolph County, and securing funds to maintain the facility in the future;” states Johnson. The Eddie Mae Herron Center/ Museum is open Monday through Friday 10a to 3pm to the public with weekly activities from traditional quilt making demonstrations to yearly Black History Month activities with historical lectures, demonstrations of soap making and hog butchering and sausage making as well as old fashioned supper with the community. “After the hog butchering, we have an auction for the meat and the fund are received back into the museum to help assist,” said Pat Johnson. The Eddie Mae Herron Center/ Museum has just received a grant to do research on Mr. CC Scott, a successful black man in Randolph County, who owned 1000 arcs of land and a ferry service. Mr. CC Scott, also founded a black school in Bigger, Arkansas and was a member of the Supreme Royal Cirlce of Friends of the World. “In the near future we will be having a public display of Mr. CC Scott headstone and life in Randolph County” stated Logan Little, a summer intern at Miss Eddie Mae Center/Museum. The Eddie Mae Herron Center/ Museum future endeavors is research and unfold the stories of African Americans history of Randolph County in northeast Arkansas. Reference (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2021, from https://local.arkansas.gov/local.php?agency=Biggers History of the building. (2017, June 01). Retrieved July 22, 2021, from http://www.herroncenter.org/about/history-of-the-building/ City of POCAHONTAS - AR: A brief history. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2021, from https://www.cityofpocahontas.com/about-city-of/ County. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2021, from https://directory.arkansas.gov/county/randolph/ (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2021, from https://local.arkansas.gov/local.php agency=Randolph+County Eddie Mae HERRON center and museum - POCAHONTAS ARKANSAS. (2018, January 23). Retrieved July 15, 2021, from http://www.herroncenter.org/ Eddie Mae HERRON Center pocahontas, Arkansas Black History African. (2020, September 22). Retrieved July 15, 2021, from https://boa247.com/eddie-mae-herron-center Mitchell, S. (n.d.). Important Places Connected to Eddie Mae Herron Center/ Museum. Retrieved July 22, 2021, from https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=156-3Mrjltz9xb0-7D8b1mu8ri25qWs0R&ll=36.34396502962582%2C-90.53322447635009&z=9 Supreme Royal circle of friends of the world. (2019, March 19). Retrieved July 15, 2021, from https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/supreme-royal-circle-of-friends-of-the-world-5861/
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AuthorHello my name Seth Mitchell. I am a vibrant and energetic personality. I'm a native of Arkansas and now reside in Missouri. I am a Life and Culture journalist covering stories that are meaningful and entertaining to the people of color (Black and Brown communities) and minorities in Northeast Arkansas. Archives
February 2022
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Kheel Center, Cornell University Library, Pest15