Hampson Museum State Park

Hampson Museum State Park houses and exhibits the archaeological collections from the Nodena Site located in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Built in 1961, the Museum underwent extensive renovations in 1978. Today, the archaeological materials are accompanied by attractive graphics and written materials, which explore the lifestyles of a farming-based civilization that inhabited this area from 1400 to 1650 AD.

Dr. James K. Hampson (1877-1956) was fascinated by arrowheads when he was a young boy. His interest in archaeology was rekindled in the early 1920's when he returned to the family plantation, Nodena, to set up a successful medical practice. In 1927, he began painstaking research and study of the physical remains of an early aboriginal population that inhabited Mississippi County, Arkansas. It was Dr. Hampson, his wife, and children who excavated portions of the Nodena Site. Their discoveries led to further excavations by the University of Arkansas and the Alabama Museum of Natural History. At the time of his death, Dr. Hampson's family donated his collections to the State of Arkansas. Land for the park site was donated by R.E.L. Wilson, III.

The Nodena Site, located on a meander bend of the Mississippi River, was a 15-acre palisaded village. Connecting two pyramidal ceremonial mounds and their associated structures was a plaza area used in the religious ceremonies of the Nodena peoples. South of the plaza was an area possibly used as a playing field for a game called chunky. Adjacent to and south of the playing field was a third mound. Surrounding the ceremonial tract was the village, which included houses and family cemeteries.

The Nodena were a group of farmers who cultivated corn, beans, and squash. These food resources were supplemented by hunting and fishing. White-tailed deer, raccoon, muskrat, squirrel, and rabbit provided a food resource as well as bones for tools, jewelry, and gaming dice. Certain native plants provided an additional food resource. Cane was used as arrow shafts; wood for tools, building materials, canoes; and fuel for fires.

Local backswamp clays were collected and used in the production of elaborate vessels as well as utilitarian objects. Stone for tools and weapons had to be imported from the North through an elaborate trade network that also provided shells from the Gulf of Mexico and salt from Missouri.

Facilities

Museum - A modest entrance fee is charged for touring the Museum. (Organized groups of twenty or more with advance notice are admitted at reduced prices.) A Gallery Guide, offering an in-depth look at the exhibits and a memento of the Museum, is available for purchase. A small gift shop with archaeological publications and other gift items is located in the Museum.

Picnicking - The park grounds include a beautiful, tree-shaded picnic and playground area that is free to the public.

Location
The park is located on the north edge of Wilson on US Hwy. 61.

Hours: Open - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday
Hours: Open - 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays
Hours: Closed - Mondays (except Monday holidays)
Hours: Closed - Thanksgiving
Hours: Closed - December 24 through Christmas Day
Hours: Closed - New Year's Day

For further information on park services or fees, contact:

Hampson Museum State Park
P.O. Box 156
Wilson, AR 72395
Telephone: (501) 655-8622

For information of Arkansas' other fine state parks, contact:

Arkansas State Parks
One Capitol Mall, 4A-900
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 682-1191

All park services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis. Arkansas State Parks is an Equal Opportunity Employer.