P&A Summer Road Trip on Interstate 69
Interstate 69 sign near Laredo, TX
Credit: Image taken by Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons
Interstate 69 sign near Laredo, TX
Credit: Image taken by Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons
For many people, summer is a time to take a break and hit the road. Interstate 69 is a combination of national and state highways starting in Brownsville, Texas, and making its way through Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana before ending in Port Huron, Michigan. Traveling through those many states makes this a great route for a summer adventure. Here are a few interesting places to visit along the way from our awardees.
SUSLA student enjoying the Willie Burton Collection at the Black Ethnic Archives
Credit: Image courtesy of the Southern University at Shreveport.
SUSLA student enjoying the Willie Burton Collection at the Black Ethnic Archives
Credit: Image courtesy of the Southern University at Shreveport.
The largest city that I-69 crosses in Texas is Houston, where you can visit many cultural and historical organizations that have received NEH funding in the past, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The Heritage Society. We also recommend going further up I-69 to Nacogdoches where you can visit the vintage costume collection at Stephen F. Austin State University, which received a Preservation Assistance Grant for a general preservation assessment of the collection.
As you continue north along I-69, you’ll pass by Shreveport, Louisiana, where you can visit the Black Ethnic Archives at the Southern University at Shreveport, a Historically Black College and University. The collection houses the Shreveport Sun, the oldest African American weekly newspaper in Louisiana, and personal papers of black educators and religious and civic leaders in northwest Louisiana. Next, make your way up to Smackover, Arkansas, where you can visit the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources to learn about the region’s history in the early oil industry.
Once you cross into Mississippi you can immerse yourself in the history of the blues. About a 40-minute drive southwest off route, you’ll find the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola. Moving back north on I-69 you’ll then reach the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. Both museums received NEH funding as part of a collaborative effort to develop regional emergency response procedures and supply stores for local cultural institutions.
Thistle Cottage in summer
Credit: Image courtesy of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries
Thistle Cottage in summer
Credit: Image courtesy of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries
As you cross from Mississippi into Tennessee you’ll hit the state’s second largest city, Memphis. To learn more about the diverse history of the “Home of the Blues” and the African American community in the south, visit the Withers Collection Museum and Gallery, whose collection of almost 2 million photographs by photojournalist Ernest C. Withers explores the civil rights movement, music, sports, and daily life. Then, making your way up through Kentucky, you can take a quick 20-minute detour east off I-69 to Greenville to visit Thistle Cottage, which houses the Muhlenberg County Public Library History and Genealogy Annex, as well as a historical collection of objects and archives related to the local coal industry.
Suit and guitar of country musician Merle Travis, a native of Mulhlenberg County
Credit: Image courtesy of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries
Continuing north into Indiana, I-69 passes through multiple cities, including Bloomington and Indianapolis. In Bloomington you can check out Indiana University, home to the Archives of Traditional Music, which houses almost seven thousand wax cylinders, and the Black Film Center & Archive, whose collections include tens of thousands of materials related to film producer Richard E. Norman and filmmaker Paulin S. Vieyra. Once you get to Indianapolis there are many cultural institutions to choose from, including the Eiteljorg Museum and the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library's general collection
Credit: Image courtesy of Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library's general collection
Credit: Image courtesy of Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
Finally, before hitting the interstate terminus at Point Huron, you can stop in East Lansing, Michigan, and explore the many collections housed at Michigan State University (MSU). At the Michigan State University Museum, you can explore a variety of collections including natural science, archaeology, and cultural collections representing local, regional, national, and international histories, such as a collection of 70 South African dolls and other beadwork objects made as part of an economic development project for rural Zulu women, which was preserved with NEH funds. At the MSU Libraries, you can explore the university archives and historical collections, including the NEH-funded MSU Vietnam Group Archive, which contains documents, maps, and images from 1955–1962 illuminating the politics, economy, and society of South Vietnam during that period.
Cloth and beaded vignette on square base by Celani Nojiyeza
Credit: From the MSU Museum’s collection of craft and beadwork related to the Siyazama Project
Cloth and beaded vignette on square base by Celani Nojiyeza
Credit: From the MSU Museum’s collection of craft and beadwork related to the Siyazama Project
Even if you cannot make the entire road trip from Texas to Michigan, hopefully you’ve gotten some great ideas for places to visit this summer and the diversity of collections, histories, and communities that have been supported through Preservation and Access awards. Happy trails!