An Open Letter from the Director

Located just south of Winslow, Arkansas in the beautiful rollercoaster of the Boston Mountains, the Ozark Folk Ways building was constructed gradually through the 1940's and early 1950’s at the behest, and by the hands, of Miss Clara Muxen, a retired educator from Iowa. Miss Clara’s dream was to create a heritage center that would support and help to preserve the crafting ways and art expressions of the folk that inhabited the Ozarks region. (click here for history)

As was original to the goals of Miss Muxen, we at Ozark Folk Ways– a 501(c)(3) nonprofit heritage center– continue to reach out to the local community by offering unique classes, meeting space and programs for children, baby-boomers and older citizens.

Presently the home of several craft guilds, including the Boston Mountain Quilters and the Wool and Wheel Hand spinners, Ozark Folk Ways continues to seek high-quality contemporary arts and crafts, chosen by jury from the Ozark’s region, to offer to the public for show and sale.

An equally important goal, for our survival and survival of Miss Muxen’s dream, is that we continually strive to expand the community we serve.

In the past, Folk Ways has behaved primarily as a service to the people of Winslow, Arkansas and a few surrounding communities. We are now beginning to reach out to the larger regional community of the mid-south as an educational center and leader in the preservation of folk-arts, crafts and music.

Most important to us, is that we move ahead, finally finishing work on Miss Muxen's long-ago dream of a craft school in the Boston Mountains, and that because of all of her initial effort, her dream will finally be realized and everyone will benefit.