The Mary D. Parsons
Photograph Collection

In 1978, the Shiloh Museum's photographs collection consisted of a single box of assorted pictures. Today it is a massive collection of over 500,000 images documenting life in Northwest Arkansas. It is the largest public image archive in Arkansas.

Longtime Museum assistant director Mary Dudley Parsons was responsible for developing the collection, and in 1993 the Museum Board of Trustees honored her for her accomplishments by naming the collection after her. The collection represents the six counties of Northwest Arkansas—Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, and Washington—with images dating from the area's early years up to the present day.

HOW THE MUSEUM ACQUIRES PHOTOS

The Museum has limited funds for purchasing objects. The majority of its photo collection has either been either generously donated outright or loaned to the museum for copying. With a loan, Museum staff make and retain a negative and file print for each of the lender’s photos before returning the originals.

Although loans are very much appreciated, donations of photos and negatives are preferred because they allow the museum to preserve and share the original image in a safe and accessible way. A copy of a loaned photo will never be as clear and informative as the original image.

Persons who loan photos to the Museum are asked to sign a “Photo Loan Receipt & Reproduction Permission” form which outlines Gift Information for Photo Lenders. Signing this form allows the Museum to make the images available to current and future researchers.

SCOPE OF THE PHOTO COLLECTION

Along with hundreds of photos of specific people and places, the collection includes subjects such as:

There are several large photograph collections of note, including

• The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas (formerly The Springdale News) Collection—Events and people collected by the daily newspaper as it covered local news, ca. 1950-1996

• Northwest Arkansas Times Collection—Events and people collected by a daily newspaper as it covered local and regional news, ca. 1950-1996

• Washington County Historical Society's Dollie Sitton Bentley Collection—Images, mostly of Washington County, circa 1870-1970

• Jay Dee Studio Collection—Madison County people and events, 1976-1989

• Madison County Genealogical and Historical Society Collection—People, places, and events in Madison County, circa 1870-1970

• Howard Clark Collection—Springdale people, events, and businesses, 1944-1964

• Ray M. Watson Collection—Springdale (and surrounding areas) people, events, and businesses, 1957-1980

• Ada Lee Shook Collection—Fayetteville people, construction projects, events, family and neighborhood life, circa 1920-1955

• Otto Bennett Collection—Madison County life, circa 1930-1970

A few of the Museum’s many images can be found on this website via Photo of the Month, Photo of the Month Archive, Past Exhibits and the Collections Highlights feature below. These pages will be enhanced and expanded over time, so please check back! In addition, over 200 of the Museum’s photos can be found at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

COLLECTIONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Ray M. Watson Collection

CONTACT US

To learn more about the Museum’s collecting areas or how to go about donating or lending historic images, please contact photo archivist and research librarian Marie Demeroukas at mdemeroukas@springdaleark.org or 479-750-8165.