Reading Retreat at Lakeport Plantation Museum Focuses on the Mississippi River
Lakeport Plantation Museum
LAKE VILLAGE — Readers who are interested in delving into the history of the Mississippi River may be interested in attending an upcoming retreat, hosted by Lakeport Plantation Museum.Attendees will be reading Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi,” published in 1883 and Rinker Buck’s book by the same name, published in 2022.Both authors traveled down the Mississippi River and chronicled their experiences.In his tale, Twain reminisces on his life training as a steamboat captain in the 1850s and writes about his travels along the Mississippi in 1882.
To gain a deeper understanding of how the West was opened and how it played a critical role in the development of the U.S. economy in the late 1880s, Buck traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on a flatboat in the late 2010s.
Upon registration, participants will receive copies of both books to read at their convenience. Readers will gather at Lakeport Plantation Museum on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. for a book discussion.The cost of the retreat is $60 for museum members and $70 for non-members. Registration includes copies of the two books and lunch.The Lakeport Plantation Museum is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. Constructed in 1859, Lakeport is one of Arkansas's premier historic structures and still retains many of its original finishes and architectural details.
Open to the public since 2007, Lakeport researches and interprets the people and cultures that shaped plantation life in the Mississippi River Delta, focusing on the Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction Periods.
A-State’s Heritage Sites include the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Lakeport Plantation, and the Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash.
Lakeport Plantation Museum is located at 601 Highway 142, Lake Village, Arkansas. Guided tours of the home are available on the hour Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and self-guided tours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.For additional information about the retreat or to register, contact Lakeport Plantation at 870-265-6031 or email Ruth O’Loughlin, roloughlin@AState.edu.
