Arts & Ag | St Joseph Farmstead

Educating and empowering Arkansans to grow food, grow farmers, and grow community

Our New Mission

We teach people how to grow food, farmers, and community. Through hands-on classes, garden-based learning, and farmer training, we help people of all ages discover the joy of growing fresh, healthy food and the skills to share it.

We see a future where neighbors know their farmers, schools grow their own produce, and every community has the skills and confidence to feed itself. Together, we’re planting seeds of knowledge, sustainability, and connection that will feed Arkansas for generations.

Our History

St Joseph Orphanage was designed by renowned architect, Charles Thompson and completed in 1910. This beautiful 56,000 sq ft. building sits on 63 acres of land that has been farmed for more than a century.

It is on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Joseph's is also a designated Arkansas Dept. of Agriculture Century Farm (established in 1907).

Over the years, St. Joseph's served as an orphanage, school, nursing home, day care, and retreat center run by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica. In 2008, the Diocese of Little Rock announced that St. Joseph's was closing and that the property would be sold. This news prompted the creation of St. Joseph Center of Arkansas. In 2010, SJCA signed a 50-year lease and assumed all fiscal and management responsibilities for the property.

For more details on St Joseph during WW1 check out https://lsfuentes.wixsite.com/belmontboom

To add to our historical database and share your personal stories about St Joseph Home or St Joseph Center of Arkansas please visit this form: https://forms.gle/4cqsNcXRTcLbztmw8.