The museum was created as part of the Arkansas Territorial Capitol Restoration Commission, by Act 388 of the 1939 Arkansas General Assembly. The act named Louise Loughborough as chairwoman of the commission.[1] Loughborough had been named to the Little Rock Planning Commission in 1935. Several houses near Cumberland and East 3rd Streets in downtown Little Rock were going to be condemned, including the Hinderliter House, the oldest building in Little Rock. Loughborough started a public relations campaign around Little Rock as a "town of three Capitols": the Hinderliter House, the Old State House, and the current Arkansas State Capitol Building. Use of the Hinderliter House as the last meeting place of the Arkansas Territorial Legislature has remained part of popular folklore, though it is not known if it was used for this purpose.[2] Loughborough then gained support from the Works Progress Administration, the Arkansas General Assembly, and private donors.[3] Loughborough worked with architect Max Mayer to restore the half-block of houses at Cumberland and East 3rd Street in downtown Little Rock. The Museum opened on July 19, 1941