The Clintons' first house now a history-packed museum near campus

By: Jessica Powviriya

Posted: 4/29/09

They were former UA faculty members and shared their first home on California Drive, a street directly off of the UA campus.

It sounds like it could be the ordinary lives of a lot of UA faculty, except that he was the 42nd president of the United States and she was the second woman to be the U.S. Secretary of State.

Former President William J. Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's first home together in Fayetteville opened in 2005 to be what is now known as the Clinton House Museum. It is a one-bedroom house with the history of the former president and first lady.

From 1973 to 1976, Clinton taught several classes at the UA School of Law, including the subjects of constitutional law, trade regulation and federal jurisdiction. Hillary Clinton joined her husband on the UA's faculty in 1974 and taught classes about criminal procedure and law and trial advocacy.

"The house is set up the same as it was when the Clintons lived in it," said Kelli Nixon, marketing director for the museum. "The working house makes the tour more interesting because you get to see how they lived."

A replica of Hillary Clinton's wedding dress stands in the living room where the Clintons were wed in 1975.

In May, the museum will expand exhibits to include more information on Hillary Clinton. There also will be a First Ladies Flower Garden in the backyard of the house, which will commemorate not only Hillary Clinton, but all of the first ladies of the United States.

The museum also is host to many local artists. Once a month, an artist is exhibited. If the artist wishes to sell his or her work, visitors can purchase those works through the museum's gift shop.

"The program has brought in many people who are interested in more than political memorabilia," Nixon said.

Nixon said that one of the most unique things about the museum is that it has the history of the beginning of the Clintons' political endeavors.

"The museum has (Clinton's) congressional memorabilia when he first ran for office against the incumbent John Paul Hammerschmidt," Nixon said. "The museum also shows all of his campaign commercials in the '70s."

The Clintons left Fayetteville at the end of 1976 so the former president could begin work as the attorney general of Arkansas.

The museum was created as part of a "Billgrimage" through Arkansas. The Clinton House Museum is operated by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission and is one of four state attractions that follow Clinton through his birthplace, childhood, first home and capital city.

The Clinton Birthplace Museum is located in Hope, the Hot Springs Visitors Center at Hill Wheatley Plaza tells of the former president's boyhood home, the Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville is the first home of the first family and the Clinton Presidential Center Museum Store relives the political career of both the couple.

The house can be rented for parties, events and weddings and is open from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Museum officials always are looking for student volunteers to be a part of the organization, Nixon said.

"The museum is a premier spot for folks to come to learn about the Clintons while in Arkansas," Nixon said.