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Hope Watermelon Festival - Continued.....
The chamber
is a good source of information on restaurants and lodging in
Hope and on other area attractions, which include the birthplace
and childhood homes of President Clinton and nearby Old Washington
Historic State Park.
Information
on Hope is also available at the city’s Visitors Center at South
Main and Division Streets in downtown. Located in a restored
1912 Union Pacific Railroad depot, the center contains Clinton
and railroad memorabilia, historic photographs of the town and
exhibits on the county’s watermelons.
Visitors can
also view the short video “A Place Called Hope,” which was featured
prominently during the 1992 Democrat ic National Convention
that nominated Clinton for the presidency. The visitors center
is open from 8:30 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1
to 4 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, phone (870) 722-2580.
The Clinton
Center at 117 South Hervey Street includes President Clinton’s
boyhood home, where he live d with his grandparents from 1946
to 1950. The home has been redecorated to appear as it did in
1950. Another center highlight is the Virginia Clinton Kelley
Rose Garden, which honors Clinton’s late mother. The center
is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Admission,
including a guided tour, is $5 for adults, $4 for those over
55, $3 for those aged 6 to 18 and free for those under age six.
Located eight miles north of Hope via Ark. 4, Old Washington
Historic State Park preserves one of Arkansas’s most historic
towns. Washington was founded in 1824 and became the state’s
Confederate capital in 1863 af ter the Union Army captured Little
Rock. The park, which has no camping facilities, contains the
1836 Hempstead County Courthouse that served as the rebel capitol
and numerous other historic structures. Guided tours are available.
The park’s visitor center is located on Ark. 4. For more park
information, phone (870) 983-2684 or write the park at P.O.
Box 98, Washington AR 71862.
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