By Cody Berry

After spending many, many hours scanning, organizing, and labeling pictures I’ve discovered in the museum, I’ve come across several old photos of things I recognize. The people in the photos — not so much. One of the cool things about living in such a well-preserved Southern town is that for the most part, when looking back through time, the buildings look the same and only the names have changed.  

One idea discussed when planning exhibits was to do something on Benton’s historic downtown area. So, I decided to make some use of my time this summer and these old Benton Courier photographs at the museum. Over the summer, I selected some fantastic shots taken in downtown Benton and took some myself of the same places. 

The Benton Commercial Historic District consists of over fifty buildings dating from the late 19th century to the 1990s. The oldest of which is probably the Bell Building, built in 1888 for Dr. J. K. Bell who ran a general store there at one time.¹ It’s the one with the mural on it today thanks to Dianne Roberts and Mark Davey. According to the original town plat at the Gann Museum, the whole downtown area has remained largely unchanged since 1836.  

If you go downtown look up at the tops of the buildings and you’ll see a timeline of our history and the names of those who made it all happen. You’ll see names like Ashby, Hughes, Bell, Gingles, Stinson, and Kelley. By mixing vintage and new photographs of the same areas today, I think our patrons will enjoy seeing what has changed and what hasn’t. I will also be highlighting the history of key buildings in that area like the Courthouse, the Masonic Hall, the IOOF/Stinson Building, the Benton State Bank building, and the three theaters. The downtown area has been home to three movie theaters: the Palace, the Royal, and the Victory, which operated in the Bell Building. I will feature these three together.  

“Only The Names Have Changed” will open in October and run the rest of the year at The Gann Museum.

Citations:

¹ Cody Lynn Berry, “Benton Commercial Historic District,” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, and Rachel Silva, “Walks Through History Benton Commercial Historic District,” March 21, 2015, p. 10