Division of Arkansas Heritage
The Division of Arkansas Heritage (DAH) is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism of the U.S. State of Arkansas responsible for preserving, promoting, and protecting Arkansas's natural and cultural history and heritage. It was known as the Department of Arkansas Heritage until it was merged with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism (ADPT) on July 1, 2019, becoming a division of ADPT's successor, the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. The division is headquartered in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas along the banks of the Arkansas River. Its  headquarters is about 34,000 square feet at 1100 North St. in Little Rock and includes offices, a materials and collections storage facility, a fleet-management physical plant, an herbarium, a library, and multiple meeting spaces available for public use. The Division of Arkansas Heritage promotes Arkansas Heritage Month each May to promote Arkansas history and tourism. It began as Heritage Week in 1982 and expanded into a month-long program in 1998. Each year, DAH selects one of its various agencies to highlight during the month of May. Local entities can apply for and receive grants in order to create  specific Heritage Month events, focused on the year's theme. In the past, Arkansas Heritage Month events have included historical biking tours, special exhibits in local museums or libraries, or history fairs with reenactments and historic activities. History. The impetus behind the creation of the department was to group together existing state agencies that were culturally oriented. Several legislators sponsored Act 1001 of 1975, which created the Department of Arkansas Natural and Cultural Heritage and brought together six agencies. The name was changed to the Department of Arkansas Heritage in 1985. Anne Bartley was the first director appointed to the  Department of Arkansas Heritage in 1975 by Gov. David Pryor to lead the Department of Arkansas Natural and Cultural Heritage. Cathie Matthews, who held the position from 1997 until 2012, was the longest-serving director. Stacy Hurst, appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson in January 2015, was its last director as a separate department. Hurst is now the Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, in charge of its entire successor department. On March 31, 2016, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson created the Arkansas World War I Centennial Commemoration Committee to lead the state's remembrance of the events  of 100 years ago. The committee worked with the people of Arkansas to plan activities, conduct research, and otherwise expanded the understanding and appreciation of the significance of World War I, until it was dissolved on December 31, 2018. The Arkansas Food Hall of Fame program was founded in 2016 by the Department of Arkansas Heritage to honor the unique foods and food traditions of Arkansas. It was originally made up of four categories for nominations, Proprietor or Chef of the Year, Food-themed Event, Food Hall of Fame, and People's Choice, with a fifth category added in 2017  titled Gone But Not Forgotten. A 13-member committee selects the finalists and winners from the entries. Honorees and finalists are announced at a special ceremony every spring. Structure. The division consists of eight separate units: four heritage resource agencies and four heritage museums. The division's central office coordinates and promotes all unit efforts to make information and materials about the state readily accessible to all Arkansans through heritage and cultural events, educational resources and special publications. The common goal of all units is to seek out and protect the legacy and lore of Arkansas and what distinguishes it  from other states. The heritage resource agencies are: The heritage museums are: