Jonquil Festival, Washington, AR

This will be my last post for this part of the journey. I checked out of the Cowhide Cove Campground in the morning to head towards Allen, Texas to visit with my brother and his family. Started out early and had plenty of time to make the 4 hour trip. After a few miles on the route, I remembered that a ranger at the campground had told me about the Jonquil Festival in the town of Washington, AR this weekend. I stopped at the side of the road, checked the town's location which was in the direction I was heading. Put in the new location in Google Maps and off I went. I arrived at the Historic Washington State Park and the Jonquil Festival at 9:30 am, and was directed to a parking lot ($5 parking fee) by a park ranger. The line of cars waiting to get in was starting to build when I walked over to the Festival area.

I started with the visitor center which is located in the 1874 Hempstead Courthouse, staffed by two lovely ladies dressed in costume who agreed to pose for a photo. There were photos and exhibits on the history of the town; the upper level included the court, the judge's chamber, witness room, etc. Got a flyer with a map of historical buildings to visit and the entertainment schedule. The weather was perfect for walking around and soaking in the town's history.

The B.W. Edwards Weapons Museum had displays of historical guns, muskets, and an entire case of Bowie knives. I did not know that the first knife was made here in Washington by James Black for Jim Bowie. Further down the road, James Black's restored shop had demonstrations on how knives were made then.

Below is the restored Royston Log House, built in 1829. Inside was a room with spinning wheels, cotton balls, and a "murphy bed". The other half of the house featured a kitchen, where the cook and her helper were baking cookies and pies in cast iron dutch ovens.

I also visited the print museum which housed a number of old printing presses and typewriters. The craftsperson there demonstrated how newspapers were printed in the old days, and I learned where the terms "uppercase" and "lowercase" came from. He also invited kids to move the press to print a flyer about the Festival which they took with them.

Below is the huge magnolia tree that was planted in 1839; an elderly gentleman commented to me that he could not imagine letting a tree grow that big in his yard.

This is the Hempstead County Courthouse that was built in 1836.

And what is a festival without food and drinks? On the menu were curly fries, blooming onions, chicken on a stick, corn dog on a stick, nachos, fried turkey legs, funnel cakes, lemonade, home made root beer, etc. I could feel my cholestrol going up just reading the food options. But it was past lunch time, so I settled for chopped BBQ chicken in a bun which I ate sitting on a bale of hay under the tent listening to bluegrass music.

There were also a number of crafts people selling their products. Some of the more unique ones were the glass lanterns below. There was a booth with wind chimes made from forks, spoons and kettles and another of bird feeders and bird houses made from recycled tires.

I finally got back on the road at about 1:30 pm; it was a challenge to get out of the parking lot. Cars waiting to turn into the Festival area were holding up traffic. Still, this was the best unscheduled stop ever: what a great way to end this part of my camping trip!