Hometown history

Gann Museum reopens with new director excited about her role

Lindsay Jordan was recently named the new executive director for the Gann Museum in downtown Benton. Jordan has always had a love for history and said she is excited to help tell the stories and history of Saline County.
Lindsay Jordan was recently named the new executive director for the Gann Museum in downtown Benton. Jordan has always had a love for history and said she is excited to help tell the stories and history of Saline County.

After being closed for more than a year, the Gann Museum of Saline County is finally reopening its doors, thanks in large part to its new executive director, Lindsay Jordan.

“We have people from all over the world coming here,” said Jordan, who lives in Benton. “Last week, [there was] a family from Georgia that was traveling all over the country on a home-school trip, visiting every state.

“Arkansas was their 24th state, and they happened to come here. They were absolutely lovely.”

Jordan also said an exchange student from Taiwan and a couple from Baltimore visited the museum recently.

“It is the only building in the world made completely out of bauxite blocks,” Jordan said of the museum.

Jordan has been a stay-at-home mom for the past four years, raising her two children, 6-year-old daughter, Sophie, and 4-year-old son, Tucker. Jordan is married to Brad Jordan, economic development director for the city of Benton.

Lindsay Jordan graduated from Bauxite High School in 2004.

“I have always had a love for history,” she said. “I was born at Saline Memorial Hospital. I love this town, and the Gann Museum is an absolute jewel in the heart of our downtown.”

Jordan said the museum was built in 1893 to serve as the office of Dr. Dewell Gann Sr. Patients who could not afford their doctor’s bill helped construct the building, she said.

“The museum is just a staple of our community,” Jordan said.

According to the museum’s website, “The Gann Museum has an extensive collection of Niloak and other pottery, Indian artifacts, memorabilia and history of Saline County.”

For more information on the museum, visit www.gannmuseum.com or call (501) 778-5513. The museum, at 218 S. Market in downtown Benton, is free to the public and is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. The museum is also available for group tours by appointment.

“We have a vast collection of local history, including a lot of Saline County and when it was formed,” Jordan said. “We certainly have an aluminum display exhibit, because our building is made of bauxite.”

Jordan, who has been the executive director for four weeks, said since the museum has reopened, it has received “an outpouring of love” from the community.

“We opened on Tuesday, and people were here as soon as I unlocked the door and were here until I closed in the afternoon,” Jordan said. “People are very excited that they can bring their children and grandchildren where they [themselves would visit].

“This was once a library, so people used to get their books here, and now they can visit with their grandchildren and relive part of our history.”

Jordan, who was named the new director after former director Elton Fitzhugh retired, said people will walk in and remember where certain bookshelves were in the library.

“I myself came here in my teenage years,” Jordan said. “It has been closed for so very long, so to get this opportunity was just unbelievable.”

Dorcas Holicer, who is the board president for the Gann Museum and has been on the board since 1987, said the museum in his good hands with Jordan.

“As I interviewed her, she was very outgoing and seemed to meet people well, which is a must in this small of a museum,” Holicer said. “She kinda scared me at first because she was so aggressive, but she is certainly what we needed.”

One of the newest displays at the museum is an Easter Bunny collection on loan from Juanita Ballard, “just to get the ball rolling and get the spring season in,” Jordan said.

“We have had several day cares and preschools schedule tours,” she said.

“When we were putting up the first exhibit,” Holicer said, “I saw that she was very talented and could take on direction very quickly. She also grew in her depth perception as we put up the exhibit. That was important.”

Holicer said Jordan has done the exhibits for years, so it was refreshing to find someone “you can work with, and she can take on most of the responsibility.

“She is actually the first director that we have had that has had so many characteristics that are positive in museum work.”

The Gann Museum is not sustained by the city but relies solely on museum members. Yearly membership costs range from $15 to $500 a year.

“We had had donations, and we are working on a exhibit for the Norman Smith family, who was a benefactor,” Jordan said. “We are going to do a nice family history of this family.”

The main goal for Jordan as executive director is to bring community residents in and make them more aware of the museum.

“I really hope our membership grows because without our members, we will not be able to remain open,” Jordan said. “This is a piece of our history.

“I really hope to educate everyone.”

May is Arkansas Heritage Month for honoring World War I, and Jordan said there will be an exhibit for the 100th anniversary of the war. The exhibit will also serve as the grand opening for the museum.

“Definitely, the World War I exhibit is going to be very interesting,” Jordan said. “Right now, we have china sets that were made in occupied Japan and occupied Germany. …

“I just like to find things that meant something to someone else. You look at something — someone loved this for some reason — and then I want to know the reason.”

Jordan said that is why this job drew her interest.

“This meant more to me,” she said. “This is not just a museum job. This is my hometown history — people’s names I have heard my entire life — and now I have a better glimpse into their past and lives.”

Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.

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