PRAIRIE GROVE -- A mold problem has been remediated, and plans are moving forward to keep artifacts at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park at a collection management facility on site.
Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, on Thursday returned to the state park for the second time this year to give an update on steps to preserve the artifacts and make improvements to the building used to store the items.
Hurst addressed about 65 people in the Latta Barn on June 16. Many attended out of concern about a decision to move the artifacts to a collections management facility at Jacksonport State Park in Newport. She acknowledged the state probably didn't do its due diligence before making a decision to move the artifacts..
She told the packed room in June she valued the passion and ownership residents of the Prairie Grove community have for the state park. Hurst said the goal would be to have the artifacts remain "in perpetuity" in Prairie Grove.
Thursday, the crowd was considerably smaller for Hurst's update. Along with Hurst, others who spoke Thursday were Jimmy Bryant, director of the Division of Arkansas Heritage; Bill Gatewood, director of the Old State House Museum; and Shea Lewis, deputy director of Arkansas State Parks.
Hurst said the reorganization of state government that placed Arkansas Heritage and the state parks system under one umbrella allowed her to tap into expertise in both departments on how to make the building suitable for storing the battlefield artifacts.
At her request, Bryant and Gatewood evaluated the park's collection management facility during a June 29 visit. Their three-page report showed a mold problem, primarily in a room formerly used as the kitchen area. The structure originally was built to be used as a residence.
Their conclusion was that if the mold was successfully remediated, and the park completed other recommendations in the report, the building could "fulfill its role as a museum collections management facility."
Gatewood on Thursday said the other recommendations were to cover any openings to the outside, add insulation to the attic, patch holes in the walls and ceilings and figure out the best way to deal with mold in some of the leather artifacts.
Lewis updated those at the meeting on steps taken so far.
The artifacts were removed from the facility and placed in a condition-controlled storage pod parked behind the building. Samantha Bynum, a curator with the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, has served as the "boots on the ground" person handling the artifacts, Lewis said.
The state contracted with Arkansas Power Dry of Bradford to remediate the mold for $25,000. This work is finished, and the mold has been removed from the kitchen area and the room treated, Lewis said.
"It's a noticeable difference," he added.
The next step will be to make the repairs recommended in the report.
When the repairs are finished, Bynum will oversee the process to clean and evaluate the artifacts to prepare them to be returned to the collections management facility. Bynum will work on the artifacts in the garage attached to the former residence.
Bynum and her team, along with park Superintendent Susan Donnangelo, will review the artifacts as part of the cleaning process to make sure each supports the mission of Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
"It shouldn't take a long time for the collection to be in its permanent resting place here in Prairie Grove," Lewis told about 25 people at the meeting.
Hurst thanked those from her staff, Donnangelo and her staff and state Rep. Charlene Fite for their efforts on the project. Fite and Prairie Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson are the first ones who reached out to Hurst about concerns over the decision to move the artifacts from Prairie Grove.
Hurst, after the meeting, said she was not surprised by some of the community's concerns.
"Particularly at state parks within a community or close to a community, there is frequently community ownership," Hurst said. "This park is really unique because of the history of it, and the artifacts that they have are so related to that history. I understand, and I really think we could have managed that better in terms of communication and community input. I'm glad we've had this chance to pause everything, regroup and have a better plan going forward that will keep the artifacts in good condition in that collections management facility."
Following the meeting, Donnangelo said it has been nice to see the community take ownership of the state park, the artifacts and the history the park is trying to preserve.
"Once you recognize the ownership, you also understand the passion behind wanting to protect it," Donnangelo said. "So now that we have identified that and we have started moving forward with getting the collection to the standard that it needs to be, I'm really excited to see what the future holds and what we're going to be able to do here at Prairie Grove and how we will continue with the legacy of Prairie Grove and the battlefield park."