I-555 Signs Mark Exit for Southern Tenant Farmers Museum
JONESBORO – People traveling on I-555 through Tyronza now know there is a first-class attraction to visit at Exit 8. Highway signs pointing the way to the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum made their appearance on Wednesday, April 12.
Thanks to the long-term efforts of State Rep. Dwight Tosh and Arkansas Highway Commissioner Alec Farmer, along with additional financial support from First Delta Bank, Ritter Communications, and the City of Tyronza, funds were contributed to produce, install and maintain the signs along both sides of the interstate and at the exit ramps.
Travelers can take a break from driving between Jonesboro and Memphis and learn about an important part of Arkansas and U.S. history. The Southern Tenant Farmers Museum preserves the legacy of tenant farming, sharecropping and agricultural labor movements in the Mississippi River Delta.
The nation’s first agricultural union involving black and white farmers in the same organization, along with women in leadership positions, was established in Tyronza in 1934. The museum is located at 117 S. Main Street in Tyronza, in the building that once served as informal headquarters for the union.
The Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, which opened in October 2006, is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. For more information, individuals may call Linda Hinton, director, at (870) 487-2909, email lhinton@astate.edu, or visit the museum website (http://stfm.astate.edu).
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