May 23, 2025 • 16 mins
Step back in time with us as we explore one of Bentonville’s most treasured landmarks—the Peel Museum and Botanical Garden, now celebrating its 150th anniversary. In this episode, take a journey through the rich history of the Peel family home, its decline and remarkable restoration, and its role today as a vibrant cultural destination.
Together, we’ll uncover the stories behind this iconic estate, what it reveals about Bentonville in the late 1800s, and how its beautifully preserved grounds and gardens continue to inspire visitors and locals alike.
What we discuss:
🏡 Welcome to the Peel Museum
📜 The Origins of Bentonville's Historic Home
🔨 From Abandonment to Restoration
🎉 Celebrating 150 Years of History
🌸 Museum Experience and Visitor Information
🌆 Bentonville Culture and Staying Connected
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Stika (00:10):
Welcome to New American Town.
I'm Natalie with VisitBentonville.
Today's guest is someone whobrings the past to life in one
of Bentonville's most belovedlandmarks, the Peel Museum.
The Peel Museum.
We're joined by the museummanager, chelsea Stewart, to
talk about the home's richhistory, its thoughtful
restoration and how this iconichouse in the heart of a Walmart
parking lot has become a symbolof Bentonville's charm,
(00:34):
creativity and commitment topreserving our story.
This year marks the 150thanniversary of the Peel Museum
and there's a lot to celebrate,from the home's free admission
and beautiful gardens to theupcoming June 1st community
picnic.
Whether you're a history buff,a curious visitor or someone who
just loves a good Bentonvillestory, this episode is packed
(00:54):
with insight, character and afew surprises.
Thank you for joining us,Chelsea.
Thank you so much for having me.
First off, I just really wantto talk about what is the Peel
Museum and can you give us aquick overview of the home, the
grounds and the significance ofthis story?
Absolutely.
Chelsea Stewart (01:12):
The Peel Museum or the Peel House was built in
1875 at the exact same time thata lot of building was also
going on in Bentonville proper.
So the house is only a fewyears younger than Bentonville
itself.
So the house really grew upwith Bentonville and it kind of
went along with that history ofthe town as well.
Natalie Stika (01:31):
Wow, oh my goodness.
So was the house situated, Iassume not in a Walmart parking
lot originally.
So what was kind of thesurrounding area like?
Chelsea Stewart (01:45):
Yeah, so that entire area was actually not in
the city of Bentonville, so itwas outside the incorporated
line.
Just outside, obviously, acrossthe street, you have the city
cemetery, which is still theretoday.
You can see it behind theArvest Bank and the Chick-fil-A
and other areas, and you know itwas over 160 acres of farmland.
They had huge apple orchards,which was their main crop, and
(02:09):
you know they had three barns onthe property, a windmill,
multiple other outbuildings, soit was a huge area.
Natalie Stika (02:17):
Wow, oh my gosh.
Yeah, Bentonville used to be ahuge apple community.
Was it the black apple thatthey farmed here?
Chelsea Stewart (02:25):
Yeah, the Arkansas black.
Exactly that was one of thoseheritage species that they
farmed here and or varieties,excuse me, heritage varieties.
Mr Peel was one of those largeapple farmers in the area and a
lot of people don't know thatBenton and Washington counties.
They were the largest appleproducers at the turn of the
century in 1900 in the nation.
Natalie Stika (02:45):
Wow, wow.
That's an amazing fun fact.
This home is so significant andhonestly still very
breathtaking with our amazinghomes that we have now.
I can't imagine seeing thishome in 1875 with how big it is.
(03:06):
I'm assuming that wasn'tstandard, absolutely not.
So what is some contextualdifferences between that home
and maybe homes that were builtaround the same time period?
Chelsea Stewart (03:13):
Yeah, so if you've ever been to the Peel
Museum, or when you drive by oryou're in the Walmart parking
lot, when you look over thefence there's a small cabin
there.
The cabin is two roomsdownstairs and one large room
upstairs and that's going to bemore typical of your farm, like
country home of the time,compared to what Mr Peel built
(03:34):
for his family there, the largehouse on the main street.
So you know, you can kind ofsee the difference right there
on the Peel property.
Natalie Stika (03:42):
Was he from here?
Is that why he built that home?
Chelsea Stewart (03:49):
He was from Independence County.
Natalie Stika (03:50):
So he was born in Independence.
He lived in Carroll County andthen moved to Benton.
Okay, yeah, wow.
So when did you guys take thishome into ownership and how long
has it did it take to getrestored?
Chelsea Stewart (04:00):
Yeah, so the Peel House itself had been
abandoned for around 50 or 60years in the middle of the 1900s
, and so it was in really badshape when people started to
look at restoring this propertyin the early 90s.
So there were a little bit ofrestoration efforts in the 80s,
but nothing major.
And then when the early 90sroll around, that's when Walmart
(04:24):
acquires the property and SamWalton builds number 100 behind
there, helen Walton actuallydecides she wants to save the
house, because the initial, Iguess, reaction was to tear the
house down because I mean trulyit was falling in.
I mean the porch was beingsupported by two, by fours, and
(04:45):
there was a tree growing throughthe master bedroom upstairs.
So if you can imagine that inyour head, the first reaction is
to really tear that down.
But Held and Walton stepped inand kind of pulled the community
together.
They pulled in someconservationists and began to
restore the home and it wasrestored within two years by
1993.
Natalie Stika (05:04):
Yeah, oh my goodness, wow, yeah, I had no
idea there was a tree growingthrough the master.
Wow, that's a surprising story.
Is there anything else that wassurprising?
Or that maybe is a favoritestory of yours to tell guests?
Chelsea Stewart (05:20):
Yeah, so the woman that had lived there in
the 80s.
She had actually tried to startrestoring parts of the house
and had done a little bit andshe was actually using it for an
antique showroom.
So she had been selling antiquefurniture and an interior.
She had like an interior designbusiness as well, so that was
her goal to use it for thatpurpose.
(05:41):
But then her health declinedand she was not able to do that.
So it had some prettyinteresting wallpaper in it at
one point from this interiordesign business.
And it's been through a lot.
The house is 150 years thisyear, so you know it's been
through a lot of owners, a lotof changes, so there's always
something interesting to findyeah, I can't imagine 80s
(06:01):
wallpaper.
Natalie Stika (06:02):
Yeah, wow.
So you, I know you're alwaysfree admission, which is so
amazing.
Do you do the tours?
Do you lead the tours?
I do sometimes.
Yeah, okay, I do sometimes.
How does a visitor get toexperience a tour at the Peel
Museum?
Chelsea Stewart (06:18):
Yeah, so when you come into the property,
you'll come in the main gate andyou stop for a few moments in
the cabin store, which is wherewe ask you to check in and
that's where we just get thebasic things like what's your
zip code?
How'd you hear about us?
That sort of thing?
Because those types of thingshelp us as a museum to kind of
see where our visitors are from.
Yeah, but then we offer toursevery 30 minutes, so you know
you just wait for the next halfhour to roll around, depending
(06:41):
on when you get there, and thenyour tour guide meets you at the
cabin and they walk you all theway up to the front of the
house and you enter just likeyou were a guest in 1875.
Natalie Stika (06:48):
Wow, that's cool.
Wow.
What are some of the moreunique features of the home that
you think people might miss?
Chelsea Stewart (06:55):
So one of the most unique features of the home
.
I don't think people miss itbecause right in the front door
is the grand staircase.
When you open the front doorand it is all hand carved out of
Arkansas black walnut.
It is native to Arkansas and wehave several black walnut trees
on the property so you can kindof see, like the trees on the
(07:15):
property, that this you knowstaircase, like they likely got
those trees from the propertywhen they carved that staircase.
Natalie Stika (07:22):
Wow, yeah, oh my gosh.
We haven't even hit on the factthat you are situated on top of
a beautiful botanical gardenwhich is like blooming insanely
beautifully right now.
So there's so much toexperience when you go to the
museum.
You kind of touched on it thisyear as your 150th, which is so
exciting.
What does that mean to you?
Chelsea Stewart (07:44):
It's a big deal .
I mean there are very fewstructures left in Bentonville
that are that old, especiallyhouses.
You know we structures left inBentonville that are that old,
especially houses.
You know we have some buildingsaround the square that are that
old and a little bit older, butespecially homes, and
unfortunately, with the weatherwe've been getting lately last
year we saw some of our historichomes impacted by that as well.
So to know that this house hasbeen here for 150 years and it
(08:06):
has survived that long is just afeat really.
And then it sort of grew upwith Bentonville.
I mean, you know, think aboutwhat that house has seen in 150
years when you think aboutBentonville and then where we
are today.
Natalie Stika (08:18):
That gave me chills.
Yeah, the pride and honor thatour community can have, standing
on that foundation and lookingat this amazing home and all
that it's gone through and ourcommunity supporting that home
still being here while we arealso continuing to have all
these new developments inBentonville and the massive
(08:39):
growth that we've seen that'sreally inspiring.
I love that.
I would love to talk to youabout some programming so that
our visitors or even locals canget involved with the one year
or 150th anniversary.
I know you have the picnic onJune 1st.
Do you want to talk about thator anything else you have in
store?
Chelsea Stewart (08:57):
Absolutely so.
On June 1st, which is a Sunday,from 11 am to 2 pm, we will be
hosting just a traditionalpicnic on the lawn.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5for kids.
You will get a full meal offried chicken and all the
fixings, and there will also beactivities based around what
life was like in the 1800s andwhat it would have been like on
(09:18):
the farm.
So we will have a blacksmith,we will have someone there
making candles and all sorts ofother home goods that you would
find on a farm and things thatmr and mrs peel would have
likely made themselves on theirfarm.
Oh my.
Natalie Stika (09:32):
God, yeah, that's so cool.
Whoa, you can't miss that.
That's amazing.
Chelsea Stewart (09:37):
Of course, the house will be open for tours.
Natalie Stika (09:39):
Yeah, and will your museum store be open as
well?
I love your museum store.
Thank you you guys have such agreat selection of everything
and you highlight local creators.
Chelsea Stewart (09:49):
We try to highlight local as much as
possible.
Natalie Stika (09:51):
Yeah, it's really fabulous.
Is there another specific partof the museum that maybe isn't
the grand staircase, but youknow each room has filled with
so many little nuggets.
What's your favorite?
Chelsea Stewart (10:04):
My favorite object in the entire museum is a
little unassuming teapot in thedining room that you might miss
if no one points out to you andit's a little, I guess, about a
foot and a half high teapotmade out of ceramics.
And it was Mrs Peel's teapotand it's the only piece we have
left of her original china set.
So you can kind of see theteapot and then envision like
(10:28):
how the dining room would havelooked with her china set on the
table, wow, okay, yeah, we needto hit on that, like it's not
just the fact you go into thishome and it's like spotless.
Natalie Stika (10:38):
It's so cool because you walk into each room
and you guys have, you know, youhave information for people to
read about the objects thatthey're looking at.
I've seen dresses, I've seenpiano.
You know, I've seen so manyamazing artifacts.
How have you guys gotten thoseartifacts?
Chelsea Stewart (10:59):
So quite a few of the artifacts are from the
Peel family and we try tohighlight those either
throughout the tour or if you goin and do an audio tour.
We have little cards that alsosit by the artifacts so that you
know this belonged to the Peelfamily and if they did not
belong to the Peel family theneverything else is of the time
period and we get a lot of it onloan from Arkansas Heritage.
(11:22):
So we work with the statedepartment and they loaned us a
lot of the like bigger pieces offurniture and things that don't
, that didn't survive from thePeel family.
Natalie Stika (11:29):
Wow, so people can transform back into the
1870s.
Oh that's cool.
Wow yeah, bentonville is knownfor mixing the unexpected.
How do visitors usually reactto discovering this home if
they've never heard about itbefore?
Chelsea Stewart (11:48):
You would be shocked the amount of people
that are from out of town, thatare just driving by or they're
going to the Walmart to getsomething they forgot at home
and they're like oh my gosh,there's a botanical garden and a
huge house right here in theWalmart parking lot.
Last year we went through theaccreditation process and one of
our reviewers actually calledit an oasis in the middle of
(12:09):
Bentonville, were their words.
Natalie Stika (12:10):
So we're really proud of that.
Wow, oh my gosh, speak to that.
How do you become the Oasis?
Chelsea Stewart (12:17):
Wow, that's so cool, absolutely.
So you know, we went throughthe accreditation process.
It took us over four years todo that.
Less than 3% of all historichouses and museums are
accredited in the nation, wow,and so it was a really long
process.
But it basically says that weare the leaders in the field.
We are taking care of ourobjects, we are taking care of
(12:37):
our house and we're kind of thestandard.
Natalie Stika (12:48):
Ooh, the standard .
I love that.
What is maybe a reaction from avisitor that has just stuck
with you?
A good story.
What do you always think?
Chelsea Stewart (12:51):
back to.
So one of the things that Ilove the most like reactions
that I get from visitors is whenthe kids come in, because you
can talk about the history, youcan talk about that in a
classroom setting, but when achild actually walks through the
door and they see, oh well,this is a house, there's a couch
, like they had a couch, butit's different from the one that
(13:14):
I have, it kind of makes thatconnection in their head, and
especially in the girls and boysrooms upstairs, you know, we
have clay marbles, whereas todaythe kids may play with glass
marbles.
Natalie Stika (13:24):
It's just a different type and so it really
is fun to watch it click on thekids' faces when they go through
the museum, and that's reallywhat it's all about, and that's
why I love historic homespersonally is because it does
allow for that contextualizationRight and realizing we have it
so good and wow, and thesepeople lived here at one point
(13:45):
right in our town and it'schanged so much and it's so
beautiful to celebrate that aswell.
That's cool, okay.
So for a visitor, we need toknow what are your hours and how
long do you think someone wouldspend at the Peel Museum and
Botanical Gardens?
Chelsea Stewart (14:02):
Yeah, so we're open Tuesday through Saturday,
10 am till 5 pm.
The last tour leaves at 4o'clock.
So if you want to catch aguided tour, be there by 4
o'clock.
Be there by four o'clock andyou can expect to spend in the
house on a guided tour 30 to 45minutes depending, but other
than that it's as long or asshort as you want it to be.
Outside of that, you know wealways tell people please walk
(14:25):
around the grounds.
We are a botanical certifiedgarden.
We have seven different gardenspots with historical like
contextualization around them,and so you know we really want
people to enjoy those whilethey're there.
Some people come and just eatlunch, like they'll go get lunch
at the Walmart and then they'llwalk across the parking lot and
just eat lunch in the gardens,and we love that.
Natalie Stika (14:44):
Wow, special, making their own picnic, exactly
.
So why should no one leaveBentonville without stopping by?
Chelsea Stewart (14:54):
I mean, first of all, it's just a really great
architectural piece.
It's Italianate, it's you knowthat was extremely popular in
the South in the late 1800s andmid 1800s.
But also, like I've said, weare part of Bentonville history.
We are part of NorthwestArkansas history, if you think
about the impact that the appleproduction had on this area.
Mr Peel and his family and hisfarm were all part of that, you
(15:17):
know, and people can reallyexperience all facets of
Northwest Arkansas history whilethey're there and it's just
good to have that you knowcontext while you're visiting.
Natalie Stika (15:26):
Yeah, that's true .
That's great.
Aside from the museum, I alwayslike to ask our guest what is
on their Bentonville bucket listor what is one of your favorite
parts about Bentonville.
Do you have anything you wantto share?
Chelsea Stewart (15:40):
I think it's probably a little obvious, but
one of my favorite parts aboutBentonville is the culture and
the arts.
As a museum professional and ahistorian, it's really nice
being in an area where,everywhere that I look, I can
see something historical, I cansee the art, I can go to a
museum and there's always newthings to do.
(16:00):
That's really my favorite part.
Natalie Stika (16:02):
Yeah, that's so good.
Well, how can people stayconnected to you?
What's your social mediahandles?
Chelsea Stewart (16:08):
Yeah, so we have social media handles for
all of our different sites.
For the Peel, comptonFoundation, you can find us on
Facebook, on Instagram, and wehave one for the Peel Museum and
Botanical Garden, osage Park,kohler Mountain Bike Preserve
and Compton Gardens, so you canfind us on all of the social
(16:28):
media handles that way.
Natalie Stika (16:30):
Yeah, awesome, love that.
Visit Bentonville 2 is here foryou so that you can have the
best experience whenever youtravel.
If you want to learn more aboutBentonville, go to
visitbentonvillecom or follow uson social media at Visit
Bentonville.
We are here for you and can'twait to see you in the next
episode.
Bye.
Welcome to New American Town.
I'm Natalie with VisitBentonville.
Today's guest is someone whobrings the past to life in one
of Bentonville's most belovedlandmarks, the Peel Museum.
The Peel Museum.
We're joined by the museummanager, chelsea Stewart, to
talk about the home's richhistory, its thoughtful
restoration and how this iconichouse in the heart of a Walmart
parking lot has become a symbolof Bentonville's charm,
(00:34):
creativity and commitment topreserving our story.
This year marks the 150thanniversary of the Peel Museum
and there's a lot to celebrate,from the home's free admission
and beautiful gardens to theupcoming June 1st community
picnic.
Whether you're a history buff,a curious visitor or someone who
just loves a good Bentonvillestory, this episode is packed
(00:54):
with insight, character and afew surprises.
Thank you for joining us,Chelsea.
Thank you so much for having me.
First off, I just really wantto talk about what is the Peel
Museum and can you give us aquick overview of the home, the
grounds and the significance ofthis story?
Absolutely.
Chelsea Stewart (01:12):
The Peel Museum or the Peel House was built in
1875 at the exact same time thata lot of building was also
going on in Bentonville proper.
So the house is only a fewyears younger than Bentonville
itself.
So the house really grew upwith Bentonville and it kind of
went along with that history ofthe town as well.
Natalie Stika (01:31):
Wow, oh my goodness.
So was the house situated, Iassume not in a Walmart parking
lot originally.
So what was kind of thesurrounding area like?
Chelsea Stewart (01:45):
Yeah, so that entire area was actually not in
the city of Bentonville, so itwas outside the incorporated
line.
Just outside, obviously, acrossthe street, you have the city
cemetery, which is still theretoday.
You can see it behind theArvest Bank and the Chick-fil-A
and other areas, and you know itwas over 160 acres of farmland.
They had huge apple orchards,which was their main crop, and
(02:09):
you know they had three barns onthe property, a windmill,
multiple other outbuildings, soit was a huge area.
Natalie Stika (02:17):
Wow, oh my gosh.
Yeah, Bentonville used to be ahuge apple community.
Was it the black apple thatthey farmed here?
Chelsea Stewart (02:25):
Yeah, the Arkansas black.
Exactly that was one of thoseheritage species that they
farmed here and or varieties,excuse me, heritage varieties.
Mr Peel was one of those largeapple farmers in the area and a
lot of people don't know thatBenton and Washington counties.
They were the largest appleproducers at the turn of the
century in 1900 in the nation.
Natalie Stika (02:45):
Wow, wow.
That's an amazing fun fact.
This home is so significant andhonestly still very
breathtaking with our amazinghomes that we have now.
I can't imagine seeing thishome in 1875 with how big it is.
(03:06):
I'm assuming that wasn'tstandard, absolutely not.
So what is some contextualdifferences between that home
and maybe homes that were builtaround the same time period?
Chelsea Stewart (03:13):
Yeah, so if you've ever been to the Peel
Museum, or when you drive by oryou're in the Walmart parking
lot, when you look over thefence there's a small cabin
there.
The cabin is two roomsdownstairs and one large room
upstairs and that's going to bemore typical of your farm, like
country home of the time,compared to what Mr Peel built
(03:34):
for his family there, the largehouse on the main street.
So you know, you can kind ofsee the difference right there
on the Peel property.
Natalie Stika (03:42):
Was he from here?
Is that why he built that home?
Chelsea Stewart (03:49):
He was from Independence County.
Natalie Stika (03:50):
So he was born in Independence.
He lived in Carroll County andthen moved to Benton.
Okay, yeah, wow.
So when did you guys take thishome into ownership and how long
has it did it take to getrestored?
Chelsea Stewart (04:00):
Yeah, so the Peel House itself had been
abandoned for around 50 or 60years in the middle of the 1900s
, and so it was in really badshape when people started to
look at restoring this propertyin the early 90s.
So there were a little bit ofrestoration efforts in the 80s,
but nothing major.
And then when the early 90sroll around, that's when Walmart
(04:24):
acquires the property and SamWalton builds number 100 behind
there, helen Walton actuallydecides she wants to save the
house, because the initial, Iguess, reaction was to tear the
house down because I mean trulyit was falling in.
I mean the porch was beingsupported by two, by fours, and
(04:45):
there was a tree growing throughthe master bedroom upstairs.
So if you can imagine that inyour head, the first reaction is
to really tear that down.
But Held and Walton stepped inand kind of pulled the community
together.
They pulled in someconservationists and began to
restore the home and it wasrestored within two years by
1993.
Natalie Stika (05:04):
Yeah, oh my goodness, wow, yeah, I had no
idea there was a tree growingthrough the master.
Wow, that's a surprising story.
Is there anything else that wassurprising?
Or that maybe is a favoritestory of yours to tell guests?
Chelsea Stewart (05:20):
Yeah, so the woman that had lived there in
the 80s.
She had actually tried to startrestoring parts of the house
and had done a little bit andshe was actually using it for an
antique showroom.
So she had been selling antiquefurniture and an interior.
She had like an interior designbusiness as well, so that was
her goal to use it for thatpurpose.
(05:41):
But then her health declinedand she was not able to do that.
So it had some prettyinteresting wallpaper in it at
one point from this interiordesign business.
And it's been through a lot.
The house is 150 years thisyear, so you know it's been
through a lot of owners, a lotof changes, so there's always
something interesting to findyeah, I can't imagine 80s
(06:01):
wallpaper.
Natalie Stika (06:02):
Yeah, wow.
So you, I know you're alwaysfree admission, which is so
amazing.
Do you do the tours?
Do you lead the tours?
I do sometimes.
Yeah, okay, I do sometimes.
How does a visitor get toexperience a tour at the Peel
Museum?
Chelsea Stewart (06:18):
Yeah, so when you come into the property,
you'll come in the main gate andyou stop for a few moments in
the cabin store, which is wherewe ask you to check in and
that's where we just get thebasic things like what's your
zip code?
How'd you hear about us?
That sort of thing?
Because those types of thingshelp us as a museum to kind of
see where our visitors are from.
Yeah, but then we offer toursevery 30 minutes, so you know
you just wait for the next halfhour to roll around, depending
(06:41):
on when you get there, and thenyour tour guide meets you at the
cabin and they walk you all theway up to the front of the
house and you enter just likeyou were a guest in 1875.
Natalie Stika (06:48):
Wow, that's cool.
Wow.
What are some of the moreunique features of the home that
you think people might miss?
Chelsea Stewart (06:55):
So one of the most unique features of the home
.
I don't think people miss itbecause right in the front door
is the grand staircase.
When you open the front doorand it is all hand carved out of
Arkansas black walnut.
It is native to Arkansas and wehave several black walnut trees
on the property so you can kindof see, like the trees on the
(07:15):
property, that this you knowstaircase, like they likely got
those trees from the propertywhen they carved that staircase.
Natalie Stika (07:22):
Wow, yeah, oh my gosh.
We haven't even hit on the factthat you are situated on top of
a beautiful botanical gardenwhich is like blooming insanely
beautifully right now.
So there's so much toexperience when you go to the
museum.
You kind of touched on it thisyear as your 150th, which is so
exciting.
What does that mean to you?
Chelsea Stewart (07:44):
It's a big deal .
I mean there are very fewstructures left in Bentonville
that are that old, especiallyhouses.
You know we structures left inBentonville that are that old,
especially houses.
You know we have some buildingsaround the square that are that
old and a little bit older, butespecially homes, and
unfortunately, with the weatherwe've been getting lately last
year we saw some of our historichomes impacted by that as well.
So to know that this house hasbeen here for 150 years and it
(08:06):
has survived that long is just afeat really.
And then it sort of grew upwith Bentonville.
I mean, you know, think aboutwhat that house has seen in 150
years when you think aboutBentonville and then where we
are today.
Natalie Stika (08:18):
That gave me chills.
Yeah, the pride and honor thatour community can have, standing
on that foundation and lookingat this amazing home and all
that it's gone through and ourcommunity supporting that home
still being here while we arealso continuing to have all
these new developments inBentonville and the massive
(08:39):
growth that we've seen that'sreally inspiring.
I love that.
I would love to talk to youabout some programming so that
our visitors or even locals canget involved with the one year
or 150th anniversary.
I know you have the picnic onJune 1st.
Do you want to talk about thator anything else you have in
store?
Chelsea Stewart (08:57):
Absolutely so.
On June 1st, which is a Sunday,from 11 am to 2 pm, we will be
hosting just a traditionalpicnic on the lawn.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5for kids.
You will get a full meal offried chicken and all the
fixings, and there will also beactivities based around what
life was like in the 1800s andwhat it would have been like on
(09:18):
the farm.
So we will have a blacksmith,we will have someone there
making candles and all sorts ofother home goods that you would
find on a farm and things thatmr and mrs peel would have
likely made themselves on theirfarm.
Oh my.
Natalie Stika (09:32):
God, yeah, that's so cool.
Whoa, you can't miss that.
That's amazing.
Chelsea Stewart (09:37):
Of course, the house will be open for tours.
Natalie Stika (09:39):
Yeah, and will your museum store be open as
well?
I love your museum store.
Thank you you guys have such agreat selection of everything
and you highlight local creators.
Chelsea Stewart (09:49):
We try to highlight local as much as
possible.
Natalie Stika (09:51):
Yeah, it's really fabulous.
Is there another specific partof the museum that maybe isn't
the grand staircase, but youknow each room has filled with
so many little nuggets.
What's your favorite?
Chelsea Stewart (10:04):
My favorite object in the entire museum is a
little unassuming teapot in thedining room that you might miss
if no one points out to you andit's a little, I guess, about a
foot and a half high teapotmade out of ceramics.
And it was Mrs Peel's teapotand it's the only piece we have
left of her original china set.
So you can kind of see theteapot and then envision like
(10:28):
how the dining room would havelooked with her china set on the
table, wow, okay, yeah, we needto hit on that, like it's not
just the fact you go into thishome and it's like spotless.
Natalie Stika (10:38):
It's so cool because you walk into each room
and you guys have, you know, youhave information for people to
read about the objects thatthey're looking at.
I've seen dresses, I've seenpiano.
You know, I've seen so manyamazing artifacts.
How have you guys gotten thoseartifacts?
Chelsea Stewart (10:59):
So quite a few of the artifacts are from the
Peel family and we try tohighlight those either
throughout the tour or if you goin and do an audio tour.
We have little cards that alsosit by the artifacts so that you
know this belonged to the Peelfamily and if they did not
belong to the Peel family theneverything else is of the time
period and we get a lot of it onloan from Arkansas Heritage.
(11:22):
So we work with the statedepartment and they loaned us a
lot of the like bigger pieces offurniture and things that don't
, that didn't survive from thePeel family.
Natalie Stika (11:29):
Wow, so people can transform back into the
1870s.
Oh that's cool.
Wow yeah, bentonville is knownfor mixing the unexpected.
How do visitors usually reactto discovering this home if
they've never heard about itbefore?
Chelsea Stewart (11:48):
You would be shocked the amount of people
that are from out of town, thatare just driving by or they're
going to the Walmart to getsomething they forgot at home
and they're like oh my gosh,there's a botanical garden and a
huge house right here in theWalmart parking lot.
Last year we went through theaccreditation process and one of
our reviewers actually calledit an oasis in the middle of
(12:09):
Bentonville, were their words.
Natalie Stika (12:10):
So we're really proud of that.
Wow, oh my gosh, speak to that.
How do you become the Oasis?
Chelsea Stewart (12:17):
Wow, that's so cool, absolutely.
So you know, we went throughthe accreditation process.
It took us over four years todo that.
Less than 3% of all historichouses and museums are
accredited in the nation, wow,and so it was a really long
process.
But it basically says that weare the leaders in the field.
We are taking care of ourobjects, we are taking care of
(12:37):
our house and we're kind of thestandard.
Natalie Stika (12:48):
Ooh, the standard .
I love that.
What is maybe a reaction from avisitor that has just stuck
with you?
A good story.
What do you always think?
Chelsea Stewart (12:51):
back to.
So one of the things that Ilove the most like reactions
that I get from visitors is whenthe kids come in, because you
can talk about the history, youcan talk about that in a
classroom setting, but when achild actually walks through the
door and they see, oh well,this is a house, there's a couch
, like they had a couch, butit's different from the one that
(13:14):
I have, it kind of makes thatconnection in their head, and
especially in the girls and boysrooms upstairs, you know, we
have clay marbles, whereas todaythe kids may play with glass
marbles.
Natalie Stika (13:24):
It's just a different type and so it really
is fun to watch it click on thekids' faces when they go through
the museum, and that's reallywhat it's all about, and that's
why I love historic homespersonally is because it does
allow for that contextualizationRight and realizing we have it
so good and wow, and thesepeople lived here at one point
(13:45):
right in our town and it'schanged so much and it's so
beautiful to celebrate that aswell.
That's cool, okay.
So for a visitor, we need toknow what are your hours and how
long do you think someone wouldspend at the Peel Museum and
Botanical Gardens?
Chelsea Stewart (14:02):
Yeah, so we're open Tuesday through Saturday,
10 am till 5 pm.
The last tour leaves at 4o'clock.
So if you want to catch aguided tour, be there by 4
o'clock.
Be there by four o'clock andyou can expect to spend in the
house on a guided tour 30 to 45minutes depending, but other
than that it's as long or asshort as you want it to be.
Outside of that, you know wealways tell people please walk
(14:25):
around the grounds.
We are a botanical certifiedgarden.
We have seven different gardenspots with historical like
contextualization around them,and so you know we really want
people to enjoy those whilethey're there.
Some people come and just eatlunch, like they'll go get lunch
at the Walmart and then they'llwalk across the parking lot and
just eat lunch in the gardens,and we love that.
Natalie Stika (14:44):
Wow, special, making their own picnic, exactly
.
So why should no one leaveBentonville without stopping by?
Chelsea Stewart (14:54):
I mean, first of all, it's just a really great
architectural piece.
It's Italianate, it's you knowthat was extremely popular in
the South in the late 1800s andmid 1800s.
But also, like I've said, weare part of Bentonville history.
We are part of NorthwestArkansas history, if you think
about the impact that the appleproduction had on this area.
Mr Peel and his family and hisfarm were all part of that, you
(15:17):
know, and people can reallyexperience all facets of
Northwest Arkansas history whilethey're there and it's just
good to have that you knowcontext while you're visiting.
Natalie Stika (15:26):
Yeah, that's true .
That's great.
Aside from the museum, I alwayslike to ask our guest what is
on their Bentonville bucket listor what is one of your favorite
parts about Bentonville.
Do you have anything you wantto share?
Chelsea Stewart (15:40):
I think it's probably a little obvious, but
one of my favorite parts aboutBentonville is the culture and
the arts.
As a museum professional and ahistorian, it's really nice
being in an area where,everywhere that I look, I can
see something historical, I cansee the art, I can go to a
museum and there's always newthings to do.
(16:00):
That's really my favorite part.
Natalie Stika (16:02):
Yeah, that's so good.
Well, how can people stayconnected to you?
What's your social mediahandles?
Chelsea Stewart (16:08):
Yeah, so we have social media handles for
all of our different sites.
For the Peel, comptonFoundation, you can find us on
Facebook, on Instagram, and wehave one for the Peel Museum and
Botanical Garden, osage Park,kohler Mountain Bike Preserve
and Compton Gardens, so you canfind us on all of the social
(16:28):
media handles that way.
Natalie Stika (16:30):
Yeah, awesome, love that.
Visit Bentonville 2 is here foryou so that you can have the
best experience whenever youtravel.
If you want to learn more aboutBentonville, go to
visitbentonvillecom or follow uson social media at Visit
Bentonville.
We are here for you and can'twait to see you in the next
episode.
Bye.
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