Tell someone you’re going to Arkansas and the jibes fly. “What, you’ve run out of places to go?” was a typical comment.

Insults to this fine state were abundant, along the lines of: “So, when you’ve done the Clinton library, what then?”

Well, believe me, the lure of Arkansas is much more than the legacy of an ex-President. For starters, look at an Arkansas quarter and you’ll learn a lot. There’s a sheaf of rice (Arkansas is the biggest producer of rice in the U.S.); a mallard duck representing the huge array of wild-life resources and activities; and a cut diamond that tells you Arkansas is the only state in the Union where diamonds are mined.

In Murfreesboro, in exchange for a few dollars, you get the chance to find, and keep, a sparkler. It’s the only diamond mine in the world open to public prospecting. Finding a three-carat stone is not unheard of.

The fall, after the summer heat, is an ideal time to visit the state, whose pronunciation, “Ar-kan-SAW” is determined by an 1881 act of law -- to stop it being called “Ar-KANSAS.” If you go next month, you can take part in the activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of Little Rock’s Central High School making world-wide headlines. It was September 23rd, 1957, that nine black teenagers faced the angry crowd of whites, protesting desegregation, as they entered the school for the first time. The school is now a National Park facility. Various events will commemorate the anniversary and guests of honor will be the “Little Rock Nine” and Bill Clinton. A special event, staged at the Clinton Library, will be the displaying of the Emancipation Proclamation, ordering the freeing of slaves. The 1862 document is so fragile that it is only allowed to be on display 40 hours a year. Little Rock is the only place this year it will be seen.

Beyond Clinton’s Presidential Library
Because of the presidential library, Little Rock has been dubbed America’s new destination point. Opened in November 2004, the number of visitors has exceeded all expectations. A welcome fall-out of this invasion is that vacationers are now discovering that Arkansas has a lot of unique offerings, many of them, like Central High School, marking social history. And several tiny, but significant, such museums are in the Delta.

Something of a tourist’s Cinderella, this largely rural region on the eastern edge of the state, does not boast dramatic scenery like the much better known Ozarks. Time spent here brings a jolt of harsh reality about poverty in America. Some small towns have a broken-down look, with main street shops shuttered, and homes in disrepair. Many a landscape is punctuated with decay. But the people more than make up for this lack of charm, with their own. Everywhere I went I was met with enthusiasm and a “thank you” for visiting.

Randolph County Highlights
This was especially true in tiny Randolph County. But before getting into its merits, it must be pointed out if a cocktail or beer is an important part of your day, you’ll have to take your own. But it’s worth coping with the “dry” drawback to sample its many attractions.

Among them, the village of Maynard, population 381, 142 miles from Little Rock. The best way of discovering what a special little place this is, is to pop into “City Hall” to see Betty Hearn. For decades she’s has been city clerk, and holder of Maynard’s history. She has dozens of scrapbooks full of photos, newspaper clippings and mementoes. She’ll give you a glass of iced-tea, settle you in a comfy chair and leave you to flick through the pages. Then she’ll invite you to the four-day “Pioneer Days” festival. A true throw-back to small town entertainment, it starts September 13th. There’s a covered wagon parade, a pioneer dress contest, a march of children and their pets, music, dancing, and, of course, food. Heavily featured in the eating department are two deserts that Arkansas claims as its own: fruit cobbler and fried-pies. The latter is a pastry envelope, stuffed with either apple, peach, cherry, even chocolate, then deep-fried. A musical treat is seeing and hearing Mayor Don Sikes, doing what he loves most. No, not making a speech, but playing his fiddle.

Pocahontas
There’s nowhere to stay in Maynard, so your best bet is to overnight in Pocahontas, just 12 miles away. Although named after the Indian Princess, it has no historical connection with her. The town bills itself as the “gateway to the Ozarks” -- it’s set in the foothills -- but there is plenty to see in and around it, before setting off for them thar hills, or returning to Little Rock. The historic 1872 court house, sitting grandly and proudly in the heart of the small downtown, is as fine a piece of Victorian architecture in the South as any. With its gracious halls and huge rooms, with wonderful old sepia photographs telling the history of the area, it serves as the visitors’ information center for the region. A sight to behold are the expansive silver-painted tin ceilings.

Across the road is the recently opened Heritage Museum. A visit is a totally absorbing experience, because of the colorful and innovative way it’s tracked life in Randolph County from the earliest of days. There is much to linger over but the one exhibit that has everyone captivated is Wonder Horse. The original one! William Baltz, who invented the childhood toy that evokes memories for so many was a native of Pocahontas.

Just a few minutes out of town is a tiny building with a huge history. It used to be the Pocahontas Colored School. Created in 1948 by Eddie Mae Herron - who was determined that the disenfranchised black children of the area should have an education - it operated until 1965. Now it’s a museum, set up exactly as it was when it closed its doors as a one-room school. Always on hand to chat about the bad old days is curator Helen McCarrol. Not only was she a pupil, five of her six children were. Only her youngest was allowed to go to be educated alongside white children.

Also nearby is Walnut Ridge, home to the Army Flying School Museum. It commemorates a very special time in U.S. military history, when, over a 22 month period it trained 5,012 World War II pilots. The museum, in the old hangar and training rooms, is a true insight into the glories and traumas of war. And like all museums there is a café. Only this one has a fun twist. It’s in a converted airliner, donated by Southwest Airlines.

Tyronza Tenant Farmer’s Museum
On the way back to Little Rock it’s worth a detour to visit the one-street town of Tyronza. Here is the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Museum, which opened last October. It tells the compelling tale of how, in 1934, black and white cotton workers, men and women, joined together in unprecedented fashion, to fight for fair compensation for their back-breaking work. It was the prelude to the lasting legacy of integrated, non-violent protests that marked the labor and Civil Rights movements of the coming decades. The museum is small but jammed with telling memorabilia of a life-altering time in America.

Tyronza is a sad example of what has happened to the small-towns of Arkansas. A decaying gloom pervades. But hopefully the museum will inject a change into its fortunes. The other bright note in the community is Clara’s Midway Café. Don’t miss it. The home-cooking and baking, certainly makes up for the sparkle that Tyronza lacks.

Emerging Little Rock
Not that Little Rock is busting with signs of prosperity. The neighborhood, surrounding the Governor’s Mansion and the Central High School, is one wonderful historic home after another, but sadly many of them are in horrible shape. The reason for this is that the area is designated “historic,” so every repair, alteration, has to adhere to strict regulations. For most home-owners, this is far to expensive, so homes have fallen into disrepair. But now a grant system is in place, which should help restore these once glorious homes.

And there are other symbolic signs that Little Rock is destined to come back into its own. A couple of years ago the city, which with a population of 184,000 is not even the size of a big town, acquired a prestigious Peabody Hotel. The group, famed for the parade of ducks in the foyers of their hotels, took over the Excelsior, notorious for being the site of the Clinton, Paula Jones saga. And across the road, the legendary Capital Hotel, is undergoing total renovation. When it re-opens next year, it will be, once more, one of the grand hotels of the South.

And right alongside both hotels is the handsome Old State House. Built in 1833, in Greek Revival style, it is the oldest state capitol building west of the Mississippi. Now a museum featuring the fascinating history of Arkansas, it was where Clinton made his election night acceptance speeches in 1992 and 1996.

Just a five minute walk from both hotels is the River Market. Anyone from Capitol Hill will be overcome with Eastern Market nostalgia. Among the stalls of fresh produce and Arkansas cheese, jams and chutneys, and state produced wine, are several cafes and carry-outs. For a true Southern breakfast, order made-on-the-spot biscuits and sausage gravy from the Coast Café. For $1.75 you’ll be set up for the day. And if you want to meet the guy who was a touchstone for Clinton’s Middle-East policies, stop by and say hello to his friend, Palestinian-born Wael Abdin, who owns Middle Eastern Cuisine. Little Rock has been his home for 30 years. But his 50 cent falafels are as good as any on the West Bank.

Still on the Clinton trail, eating at Doe’s is not to be missed. It has a distinct run-down appearance, but it’s been a Little Rock institution for over 30 years. The Clinton-era gave it world-wide recognition. This is where the former President, then Governor, would lunch and plot the future of the state, and then the nation. In the city-issued guide, Doe’s is described as a skid-row dive turned power brokers’ watering-hole. It carries the marks of both. The walls are plastered with local political history memorabilia, while the black and white linoleum floor is worn, pitted and peeling.

Doe’s, and it’s shabby floor, is a perfect metaphor for Arkansas. Do not be deceived by looks. As Doe’s atmosphere and food is wonderful, so are the tourist treasures in this somewhat maligned state.

If You Go:
Fly: Southwest from Baltimore.
By Road: it’s a 16 hour, 1,013 mile drive.

Accommodation: in Little Rock: The Peabody Hotel, 501-906-4000, www.peabodylittlerock.com; the Empress bed and breakfast, tel 501-374-7966, www.theempress.com; in Pocahontas: Day’s Inn, 870-892-9500.

Information: for a state wide guide, www.arkansas.com; for the Clinton Library, www.clintonlibrary.gov ; for the Central High School 50th anniversary events, www.nps.gov/chsc/