Youth and Adult Local History Essay Contest 2025
Begins: August 12, 2025
Deadline for entry: October 3, 2025
This contest is open to any Calhoun County resident between ages 8 and 100+. Entries should be a minimum of 250 words (no maximum length). Fill out the Museum Essay Contest Entry form available at the Museum, the library, and on our website and Facebook page. Entries cannot have been previously published.
Topic:
Essays should focus on one already-deceased person from Calhoun County history. This can be a relative, a friend, a famous person, or someone not connected to you in any way but whose story you’d like to share. Entries should consist of a factual account of a no-longer-living person, and can tell a narrative of something that happened to them that might be of interest to others or can contain a general history. Essays can be funny, scary, serious, meaningful, historical, unusual, etc. Tell how this person is connected to Calhoun County, and how they are connected to you, if applicable. Use pictures, maps, and any other evidence of authenticity you can gather, and cite your sources (such as interviews, family bibles, old documents, photographs, etc.) as footnotes or end notes in your entry.
Prizes will be awarded in each of 3 categories.
Grades 3-6
Grades 7-12
Adults (anyone 19+)
Judging will be based on quality of research, style, theme, and content, as well as use of primary and secondary sources, citations, and use of graphics (photographs, maps, charts, drawings, copies of documents, records, etc). No more than one entry will be accepted per person. All essays must be the original work of the person submitting them; no AI-assisted submissions will be accepted. The Museum reserves the right to publish submissions in a variety of locations.
Submissions must be received or postmarked by October 3, 2025. A printed copy of your entry may be mailed to Calhoun County Museum at PO Box 1162, Hampton, AR 71744 or delivered in-person at 115 S. 2nd Street in Hampton. Electronic submissions may be sent to calcomuseum@gmail.com. All entries must be accompanied by an entry form, which can be found at the Calhoun County Library, Calhoun County Museum, www.calcomuseum.com, or the Facebook page for Calhoun County Museum.
Please only include the name of the person who is submitting the essay on the entry form, so judging can be done anonymously.