Delta Gateway Museum

Purpose

The Delta Gateway Museum provides free, heritage-based, cultural and educational opportunities for regional school children, senior citizens, heritage tourists and tour groups, and the general public.

delta gateway

Collections

The museum collects, stores, maintains, and regularly exhibits historical and cultural objects, artifacts, photographs, works of art, printed materials, and audio-visual materials that relate to and emphasize the history and cultural development of Blytheville, Mississippi County, Northeast Arkansas and the Arkansas Delta.

Exhibits

  • Prehistoric and early historic Native American cultures
  • The growth and impact of Euro-American and African-American settlement
  • The importance of the timber industry and swamp drainage in the development of cotton agriculture
  • The development and regional significance of river, rail and highway transportation
  • The historical effects and continuing threat of earthquakes and flooding
  • The regional impact of the air force base and steel industry

The museum provides an introduction to other parts of the Arkansas delta.

Historic Location

The Delta Gateway Museum occupies the historic S. H. Kress Building, located in the Blytheville Commercial Historic District. The Kress Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.