Frequently Asked Questions: The Gann House
By Cody Berry I’ve been asked many times if the Gann House is part of the museum or if it’s part of the tour. The answer to both of those questions is “no.” While the Gann House is the former home of the Gann family, it is still a private residence. It is not part … Continued
Free Entry on Museum Day 2024
Saline County museums have partnered together to host the annual Saline County Museum Day on Saturday, September 14th, from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. The ten museums are: Saline County History and Heritage Society, Arkansas Firefighter Museum & Fire Education Center, The Shoppach House, Benton Athletic Memorial Museum, The Haskell Historical and Fire Museum, Boone … Continued
Bauxite: A Company Town
By Cody Berry After covering what Bauxite ore is, and what it’s used for, I thought I should talk more about the town of Bauxite. When we have visitors from other states in the U.S. or other countries even, I often relate the Gann’s walls to the Bauxite mining industry in Saline County. The nearby … Continued
What is Niloak Pottery?
By Cody Berry Another frequently asked question I get from our patrons is “What is Niloak Pottery?” Well, Niloak is the name given to a popular line of art pottery made from locally sourced clays in Benton. Its creation is often credited to Benton’s own Charles Dean “Bullet” Hyten and Ohio potter Arthur Dovey but … Continued
What is Bauxite Ore?
By Cody Berry There’s a long list of questions I get frequently during my tours at the Gann Museum. I try to answer them as best I can and relate that to whatever is next on the tour. Probably the most frequently asked question is something like “So, What’s Bauxite?” Well, Bauxite is a type … Continued
Dr. Gann Jr Goes to Scotland
Did you know that Dr. Dewell Gann, Jr completed a week-long medical course in just two days? In around 1924, when he was 34, he received a very high honor. He was awarded a fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland. But to be admitted, candidates had to endure ten written and … Continued
The Oldest Bridge in Arkansas?
Recently, in my research on the Old River Bridge, I have read that it may be the oldest bridge in Arkansas. So, today, I decided to see how our bridge ranks in the chronology of early Arkansas bridges…
City of Bryant Welcomes Newest Museum
by Cody Berry, Special Collections Assistant On April 11, 2024, my manager, Julie Syler, accompanied me on a field trip to the grand opening of the Bryant Historical Museum. The museum is the first of its kind in Bryant. The museum came to be after years of hard work by our friends at the City … Continued
An Old Bridge with A New Purpose
by Cody Berry, Special Collections Assistant On March 11, 2024, I had the pleasure of attending a historic groundbreaking ceremony with Kari Lapp, our Public Relations Manager, and the library’s new Assistant Director, Stony Evans. Together, we walked down the muddy road to a part of the Saline River that had been the site of … Continued
Dr. Gann’s Radioactive Therapy
by Cody Berry, Special Collections Assistant Because of the recent success of films such as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Radium Girls on Netflix, we thought it would be interesting to investigate Dr. Gann Jr’s work with radium. Dr. Dewell Gann Jr (1890-1960) is credited as the man who introduced the use of radium to Arkansas … Continued