Ozark Foothills African-American History Museum

The Ozark Foothills African-American History Museum focuses on the African American history of Walker Township in Faulkner County. The goal of the museum is to “leave a legacy” for the community of Twin Groves (Faulkner County) and create a center where “one hundred years from now the next generation that walks through the museum will have the opportunity to see how we lived.”

The museum was conceived in 1991, when the community was celebrating the incorporation of Solomon Groves and Zion Groves into Twin Groves. At this time, Albessie Thompson, who would eventually found the museum, and other residents of Twin Groves were unable to find any written history about the area. This absence led Thompson and local families to start researching the history of Twin Groves and the surrounding regions of Faulkner County, Van Buren County, and Conway County.

In 2009, the museum opened in a small building located next to the Twin Groves Public Library, a branch of the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, under the name of the Gus & Eunice Thompson Cultural Center. The museum building included exhibits focusing on local family histories using photographs, documents, and transcribed oral stories. Each exhibit was collected and placed on a placard board describing the settlement of what became Twin Groves by focusing upon individual families and their lifestyles during certain time periods. In the back section of the cultural center, there were placards detailing members and lineage for each local family.

In 2018, the museum was renamed the Ozark Foothills African-American History Museum. That same year, the museum launched its website, offering digital resources of exhibits and detailing plans regarding the museum’s goals. Expansions to the museum included the Memorial Garden that showcases early settlers such as Frank and George Walker, as well as the families that migrated to Walker Township after 1879 due to land deeds from railroad companies and the Homestead Act of 1862. Showcased in the garden are founding families such as the Owenses, Ealys, and Thompsons, paying tribute to the family members who created the garden project.

In 2021, a mural was created as part of the outdoor exhibit, presenting the first African American inhabitants of Walker Township with a slogan of the civil rights movement: “Keep your eye on the prize.” This same year, an expansion was planned in order to better house the exhibits and documents inside the museum. These plans included the construction of a building to house three main exhibit spaces and a genealogical research workshop. Further expansion plans include a concrete parking lot, two farmer’s market depots, and an entry walkway.

In 2024, the Ozark Foothills African-American History Museum worked in collaboration with Communities Unlimited, Inc., to create a short-form documentary regarding the museum and its mission. That same year, Albessie Thompson presented the lecture “Community and Rootedness: Stories of the Ozark Foothills African-American History Museum” at Arkansas Tech University, explaining the goals of the museum and relaying the history of Twin Groves.

The museum, privately owned by Thompson, relies on nonprofit organizations and volunteers for fundraising, donations, and preparation of exhibits. Its mission is “to recover, research, collect, preserve, interpret, teach, and promote knowledge and appreciation of the African people, with emphasis on African-Americans.”

For additional information:
“African American Museum Founder to Speak at ATU.” Arkansas Tech University, February 23, 2024. https://www.arkansastechnews.com/african-american-museum-founder-to-speak-at-atu/ (accessed September 13, 2025).

Ozark Foothills African-American History Museum. https://www.ozarkfoothills.org/ (accessed September 13, 2025).

Schmidt, Sabine, and Don House. Remote Access: Small Public Libraries in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2021.

“Turn to Your Neighbor: Albessie Thompson—Twin Groves, Arkansas.” Blackbelt Voices, November 10, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tukTWeaLoQ (accessed September 13, 2025). [see Related Video in sidebar]

Zane Brooks
Little Rock, Arkansas