Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center - Piggott, Arkansas Museum

The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center is situated at West Cherry Street in Piggott, Arkansas. Piggott is located eleven miles from picturesque Chalk Bluff in northeast Arkansas. The museum and educational center is owned and operated by Arkansas State University of Jonesboro, and is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Saturday throughout the year with the exception of most major holidays.

The museum includes a barn which the celebrated author Ernest Hemmingway used as a studio to pen some of his famous work when he was staying in Piggott. The house was the family home of Hemmingway's second wife Pauline Pfeiffer, whose parents were prominent citizens of Northeast Arkansas and owned 60,000 acres of land. The home and the barn studio were named to the National Historic Register in 1982 and have since been renovated to reflect the 1930s era when Hemmingway worked here.

Given the Hemmingway and Pfeiffer family connection the museum looks to inform visitors of events of that 1920s and 30s period with literature from the period. Visitors will also be able to learn about world events, agriculture and the development of the area during and after the depression. Here visitors can discover more about the lives of Hemmingway and Pfeiffer before, during and after their marriage, which ended in 1940 when they divorced.

Visitors can take a guided tour of the museum, which start from 9am and run on the hour until 3am each day except Saturday, when they are only offered at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. The tours begin at the museum store on the western side of the studio barn, where guests can also purchase souvenirs and gifts. Parking for buses is available on the north side of West Cherry Street, beside the wooded area at the back of the Pfeiffer-Janes House, and there is a parking lot to the west of the museum.

Special tours for school groups can also be arranged Monday to Fridays and must be booked in advance. These are ideal for 4th to 12th grades and can focus on numerous subjects ranging from the style of dress in the 1930s to listening to short stories by Ernest Hemmingway. The maximum recommended group size is 60 with an adult sponsor required for every 10 students.

Aside from providing a great educational experience the museum will accommodate meetings and other events such as weddings and receptions. The lawn and patio areas can accommodate 20 to 200 guests for a seated dinner and 300 for a standing reception. The Conference Room in the Educational Center can accommodate tables of 16 for meetings or seminars with large screen TV/VCR and other equipment available too.

Several special themed events are held throughout the year, so it is recommended anyone considering visiting checks the website to find out what events are occurring and when. Visitors can find accommodation near the museum if they are looking to stay overnight or longer in the area. Just one kilometer from the museum is The Downtown Inn Bed & Breakfast or just less than two and a half kilometers away is Rose Dale Farm Bed & Breakfast.