Main Street Historic District

The Van Buren Historic District covers eight blocks of Main Street between 6th and 14th Streets, with a concentration of well-preserved Victorian commercial buildings that give the town one of the more coherent nineteenth-century streetscapes in western Arkansas. Most buildings date from the 1870s to 1900 and are now occupied by antique dealers, specialty shops, cafes, and galleries.

The antique shops are the main draw for most visitors: several reputable dealers occupy the old storefronts and the selection of American primitives, quilts, furniture, and kitchenware is better than you might expect. The street is quiet on weekdays; Saturdays are busier. The King Opera House at the east end of the district is the architectural highlight of the street.

things to do neighbourhood sight
A story
Van Buren's Main Street survived the Civil War largely intact — a rarity for an Arkansas river town. Union forces occupied Van Buren in December 1862 and again in 1863, using the town as a supply base and headquarters. The buildings that line Main Street today were built primarily in the 1870s and 1880s, once the town recovered from wartime disruption and the post-war decline of river traffic.