History

Located just south of Winslow, Arkansas in the beautiful rollercoaster of the Boston Mountains, the Folkways building was constructed gradually through the 1940's at the behest of Clara Muxen, a retired educator. It is generally held that her unrequited dream for the building was that it be used as a craft school, but she died before its completion and the large, native stone building sat unused for many years.
In 1973, the rapidly growing Ozark Native Craft Association took up residence and thrived there as a member-based social welfare craft group until the late 1980's, when employment opportunities in northwest Arkansas expanded due to intense economic development in the area. By 1997, income had dwindled to a third of its former gross and a new interstate highway was being constructed that would bypass the area. The board of directors recognized the cue to adapt and made the decision to shift focus away from retail, to concentrate future efforts on the preservation of and education in regional heritage and crafts. By spring of 2004 the sprawling retail portion of the building had been reduced by half, a free resource library and museum established, and later that year the organization was approved for 501(c)(3) status under the new name of Ozark Folkways. The long-term goals of this rebirth are the creation of a respected and competitive craft school with a residencey program, summer activities for children, and a year-round curriculum of classes and workshops.
As a relatively new 501(c)(3), the creation of new sources of income, namely grants and charitable patronage, are of central importance to our survival, but within that economic plan there must also be self-reliance. It is necessary to be independent of state parks and other tourist draws in the area, to become a destination in our own right. Equally important is an expansion of the community we serve. In the past, Folkways has behaved primarily as a service to the people of Winslow and a few surrounding communities. In times to come we must relate to the larger regional community of the mid south as an educational center and leader in the preservation of folk arts and craft. Presently the home of several craft groups, including Boston Mountain Quilters and the Wool and Wheel Handspinners, Ozark Folkways continues to shrink its retail operation, aiming for a three-room gallery shop catering to high-quality contemporary crafts, chosen by jury, from the ozark region. With a new artist in residence, a slate of new classes and workshops scheduled for 2006, and a grant from the department of Arkansas heritage to create the Arkansas Quilt Registry, the clouds seem to have parted and we are moving ahead toward Clara Muxen's long-ago dream of a craft school in the Boston Mountains.