Rural Development Heritage Initiative
Rural Heritage Development Initiative
In 2006, the National Trust pledged funds for a three-year Rural Heritage Development Initiative (RHDI) pilot program to preserve and promote cultural and heritage assets as part of a new economic development strategy in the Arkansas Delta. Based on a platform of Heritage Tourism and Main Street principles, the RHDI has helped communities recognize and use local assets to achieve economic gains and assist in community revitalization. The initiative's pilot period was funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the National Trust is working in close partnership with the Main Street Arkansas and Arkansas Delta Byways Regional Tourism Association to ensure the sustainability of the RHDI in this rural region. Initial resources and matching funds were secured from five Main Street communities in the Arkansas Delta (Blytheville, Dumas, Helena, Osceola and West Memphis) and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, as well as initiative partners. A full-time Field Representative has been working in the region since 2006 to coordinate the initiative. Both field staff and lead partners - the National Trust, Main Street Arkansas, and Arkansas Delta Byways - have committed to the seamless transition beyond the pilot period of the RHDI to build on local momentum and continue employing economic development and community revitalization strategies to preserve and promote the rural Arkansas Delta.
For more information about the Rural Heritage Development Initiative contact
Beth Wiedower
Arkansas Delta Rural Heritage Development Initiative/
National Trust for Historic Preservation
870.816.0774
Learn more about Rural Heritage Development Initiative in the following video
The RHDI newsletter archive can be found here
Rural Heritage Development Initiative Update Archive
