The museum s extensive collection of prairie tools spans the history and crops of the region, from plows used to bust the virgin prairie s sod and reap its hay in the 19th Century to the advent of the modern tractors and combines that made obsolete the displayed steam traction engines, binders and threshers used in early rice harvests. The museum has a wing devoted to the region s waterfowl and hunting heritage as well as a general wildlife diorama. Businesses such as were found in Stuttgart s early years have been re-created, including a mercantile store, a doctor s office, a photography studio, a toy store, a millinery and a post office. Among the museum s cultural exhibits are dolls, farm toys, crafts, household and kitchen items, clothes, quilts, photographs of early settlers and many other items. It is closed on Mondays, legal holidays and Easter.
Admission is free, with donations accepted.
The Stuttgart Area Chamber of Commerce at 507 South Main provides information on the town s lodging, restaurants and other attractions, which include area hunting lodges and resorts and guided waterfowl hunts. Located a mile south of Lonoke on U.S. 70, the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery allows visitors to see how fish are raised on the Grand Prairie. The hatchery s open ponds offer a chance, improved with binoculars and spotting scopes, to observe the area s waterfowl in the wild. Other sites of interest in Lonoke include the restored 1912 Rock Island Railroad Depot, which now houses the offices of the Lonoke Area Chamber of Commerce, and the 1928 Lonoke County Courthouse. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.