Springdale
A great place to comb antique stores or catch a ride on the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad in a beautifully restored turn-of-the-century passenger car, downtown Springdale, AR is also home to the Shiloh Museum, which offers Ozark history and buildings dating back to the 1850s. Two other elements identify the essence of Springdale, Arkansas – the annual Rodeo of the Ozarks, held July 1-July 4, and the award-winning, world-famous AQ Chicken House restaurant. It opened on July 20, 1947, and has become family tradition. Signaling the growth of the city is Ozark Center Point Place near Interstate 540. This 269,500-square-foot outlet mall contains over 30 specialty and discount stores of popular name-brand goods.
Springdale, AR, too lays claim to the treasure of nearby Beaver Lake for outdoor activities and is close to numerous rivers popular with canoeists, including the Mulberry, Kings and Buffalo. Hiking, caving, and camping is available at nearby Devil’s Den State Park and Withrow Springs State Park, both less than one hour away.
The city is about 22 miles from Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, and 41 miles from Eureka Springs.
Ride in style on our meticulously restored antique passenger cars,our first-class parlor car or the 1940’s
Caboose, Lil’ Toot, we added in 2007. Relax as we wind through the river valleys, traverse high trestles, and cut into a quarter-mile tunnel. Our friendly and fun-loving conductors will enhance the journey with anecdotes about the area’s rich history, while tending to your safety and other needs.
Located in downtown Springdale, Arkansas, the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History is a regional history museum focusing on the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks. The museum takes its name from the pioneer community of Shiloh, which became Springdale in the 1870s.
Most of what you’ll see at the museum highlights the real shapers of Ozark history – the everyday men, women, and children who lived in our towns and rural communities. We tell their stories through a variety of exhibits on native peoples, pioneers, the Civil War, the fruit and timber industries, and traditional folklife. There’s plenty of fun for all ages – you can use a grinding stone, try on some old-timey clothes, listen to folk music, or sit and play a game of checkers.
Along with exhibits, you can explore six historic buildings on the museum grounds, including a log cabin, a barn, and a town home of the 1940s. Shaded walking paths and picnic tables offer a chance to relax and remember a time when life moved at a slower pace.
The Shiloh Museum also houses a research library with an extensive collection of over 700,000 photographs of Ozark life. We offer programs, lectures, and changing exhibits on a variety of regional history topics. The museum is less than three miles from the interstate, not far off the beaten path.
