Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Hotel Claiborne
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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The museum from town square in 2012
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 Location in Louisiana
Location in the United States
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| Location | 519 South Main Street Homer, Louisiana 71040 |
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| Built | 1890 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Part of | Homer Historic District (ID86001994) |
| Designated CP | August 28, 1986 |
The Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum is a cool place to learn about local history and culture. It's located in the old Claiborne Hotel at 519 South Main Street in Homer. Homer is a town in Claiborne Parish, which is in northern Louisiana.
The museum is a two-story building. It's right across the historic town square from the Claiborne Parish Courthouse. The Homer Chamber of Commerce also has its office inside the museum.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
The museum building is part of the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site. The museum has held the collection of Homer businessman Herbert Ford since 1982.
Herbert Ford lived from 1889 to 1960. He started collecting historical items in 1924. Before the museum opened, his collection was kept in different places. Herbert Ford was a United States Army captain during World War I. He and his wife, Ruth Meadows, sadly lost their son during World War II.
Cotton and Oil: Changing Lives
The museum has a really old bale of cotton. It's said to be the oldest compressed cotton bale in the United States. This cotton was baled around 1930. You can see a similar bale at the Louisiana Cotton Museum. That museum is in Lake Providence, in the farm-rich delta area of Louisiana.
Next to the cotton exhibit, there's a replica of an oilfield roughneck. A roughneck was a worker who helped on oil rigs. They loaded cargo and kept the drilling equipment clean. This replica shows a roughneck from the early 1930s. He worked for the Sinclair Oil and Gas Company.
A recording at the exhibit tells a story. It's about a farm family who grew cotton and corn. They faced tough times in Mississippi. But they moved to Claiborne Parish for new chances. This was during the oil and natural gas boom. The recording says, "Oil changed our lives forever." It also thanks the "men, mud, and mules" who made it happen.
Oil was first found in Homer in 1921. Another oil discovery happened that same year in Haynesville. Haynesville is in northern Claiborne Parish, near the Arkansas state line. The oil boom lasted through the 1930s. It brought many visitors to the Hotel Claiborne, which opened in 1890.
Honoring Military Heroes
The museum has a small exhibit downstairs about the American Civil War. You can see three Confederate flags on the wall. There is also a touching letter. It was sent to a widow whose husband died in the Battle of Atlanta in Georgia on July 20, 1864.
Upstairs, there's a section that honors military veterans from the 20th century. Two special people are recognized there:
- Larry Sale was the Claiborne Parish sheriff from 1936 to 1944. He was Louisiana's most decorated soldier from World War I.
- David Wade (1911-1990) was born near Homer. He became a lieutenant general and served in three wars. He earned more than a dozen medals. A state prison, the Wade Correctional Center, is named after him. It's located between Homer and Haynesville.
Other Cool Exhibits
The Ford Museum shows an old ballot box. It explains that before the 1890s, people voted by saying their choices out loud. There was no secret ballot like we have today. You can also see a framed copy of the 1935 centennial edition of the Shreveport Journal.
Many other old items are on display. There's a pirogue, which is a dugout canoe. It was made from cypress logs. Both Native Americans and early settlers used these canoes. You can also see old irons and ironing boards. There's a water wheel, a bank, and a railroad station. Other displays include a judge's office, a doctor's office, and how food was canned. There's even a general store with old glass milk bottles.
One exhibit shows an early Claiborne Hotel guest room. There's also a log cabin from the George Green homestead. It has a bedroom and dining table combined. You can see several radios from the 1930s. One is a large Philco cabinet model. People might have listened to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats on radios like this.
There's a model school classroom. It shares information about Forney C. Haley (1905-1982). He was the Claiborne Parish Superintendent from 1945 to 1969. There's also a poster about the African American Reverend Roy Mayfield. He started the Homer Normal Institute in 1900. The former St. John School later became the first four-year high school for black students in Claiborne Parish.
You can also find a poster about Pat Garrett. He was a frontier peace officer. He grew up on a plantation near Haynesville. Garrett is famous for shooting the bandit Billy the Kid.
The museum also highlights clothing designer Geoffrey Beene. He was from Haynesville. In 1963, he became the first American designer to start his own company. He designed the dress that Lynda Bird Johnson wore at her wedding in 1967. She married future U.S. Senator Charles S. Robb.
Learning About Old-Time Values
The museum teaches about important values from the past. A sign says that "Self-Reliance was the key to survive in frontier times." It explains that many early farmers became skilled blacksmiths. They built outdoor forges and worked outside when the weather was good.
At the sewing and quilting exhibit, another sign shares a message. It says that pioneer women showed their feelings through the folk art of their quilts. These "Legacy quilts" were passed down from mothers to children. They told stories about family life. The quilt blocks showed tales of fires, storms, first loves, weddings, births, and lost homes.
Visiting the Museum
It costs $3 for adults to visit the Ford Museum. Children can get in for $1. A family can visit for a maximum of $5.
The museum is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The hours are 9:30 AM to 12 PM, and 1:30 PM to 4 PM. You can also visit by making an appointment.
