ONLINE EXHIBITION:
A NEW NARRATIVE FOR THE PEEL MANSION

Until recently tours at Bentonville’s Peel Mansion, built in 1875 by attorney and former Confederate Colonel Samuel West Peel, tended to focus on the story of the Civil War and the “Lost Cause.” Ready for a refresh, museum leaders reached out to the Honors College, which quickly assembled an interdisciplinary team to research and build a new narrative focused on Peel’s later life, when he became the first U.S. Congressman born in Arkansas and chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. History major Emily Snyder investigated the social history associated with the family, architecture major Nate Cole studied the architectural features of the home, and agricultural business pre-law major Mary Eichenberger researched the legal career of Samuel Peel and his involvement in the Indian Affairs Committee during the tumultuous era of the Dawes Act.