A Special Relationship Part II: How the Gann Became a Museum
By Cody Berry
In my last article, I wrote about how the Saline County Library got the deed to the former Gann Memorial Library from Mary Baum. So, now that the library board had control over the building, what did they do with it? In January 1972, an article in the Benton Courier stated that the library board voted to lease the Gann Building to the Saline County Art League for use as a museum. The Saline County Art League was to pay $1 a year for ten years, with an option to renew after those ten years had passed.1
The Benton-Bauxite Rotary Club pledged to provide monetary assistance for such a museum.2 On January 18, 1972, the Benton Courier said that the Rotary Club donated $500 in July and another $500 in January for use in making a museum out of the Gann Building. David Demuth said that work would “probably start in July,” and that there was a need to make the building “burglar proof.”3
In a letter addressed to the library board by Pat Dunnahoo, President of the Saline County Art League, Dunnahoo said the plan at that time was to use the Gann Building to house donations that were not suitable for use at the Shoppach House, which the Saline County Art League still owns. Dunnahoo said that the Gann Museum would focus on the “entire history of Saline County,” which it still does.4 Demuth, who was a member of the library board, the league board, and the Rotary Club, was to act as a liaison for the three organizations.
On April 17, 1980, the Benton Courier announced that the first Gann Museum Board was forming. A group of individuals, including Dunnahoo, met with the library board to discuss the fate of the Gann Building. The article said that a new “committee” was formed with Dunnahoo as its chairman. The library board allowed the organization to lease the Gann Building with the stipulation that if the museum ever ceased to exist, the library board would resume control.5
Dunnahoo said that by forming a tax-exempt organization, the group would be eligible for grants from various businesses and organizations to secure funding. Several people at that meeting agreed to serve as temporary directors for the museum committee. Arlene Rainey served as the group’s secretary and Francis Bush served as their treasurer. Eight members were selected to fill the board’s 12 positions. At least four were reserved for Saline County residents living outside the Benton area and one position would be held by a library board member.6 Next week, I will dive into the story of how the Gann Museum became a non-profit organization.
Citations:
1 “Library board ponders fate of Gann library building,” Benton Courier, April 8, 1980, p. 1 and “Gann Library to be a museum,” Benton Courier, January 11, 1972, p. 1.
2 “Gann Library to be a museum,” Benton Courier, January 11, 1972, p. 1.
3 “Gann Library plans discussed,” Benton Courier, January 18, 1972, p. 1.
4 “Gann Library to be a museum,” Benton Courier, January 11, 1972, p. 1 and Cody Lynn Berry, “Shoppach House,” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/shoppach-house-12177/, Date Accessed 1/16/2025.
5 “Board established to create museum in Gann building,” Benton Courier, April 17, 1980, p. 1.
6 “Board established to create museum in Gann building,” Benton Courier, April 17, 1980, p. 1.