The Hampson Museum Collection represents one of the world's most extraordinary collections of American Indian artistic expression as well as a major source of data on the lives and history of late pre-Columbian peoples of the Mississippi River Valley. The collections at the museum are the result of extensive excavations of the Nodena Site as well as excavations at other sites in the region by Dr James K. Hampson, as well as work by others including the University of Alabama and the University of Arkansas.

While the museum and its collections are well known in selected archeological circles, its extraordinary materials are not widely known. The Hampson Virtual Museum Project was initiated to improve the visibility and accessibility of these materials – making them more available to both the public and scholars. The project was made possible through the generous financial support of the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council and the assistance of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, the Arkansas Department of Heritage and the Arkansas Archeological Survey.

The Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resource Council was established in 1987 to manage and distribute grants from the Natural and Cultural Resources Grants and Trust Fund. The fund is managed for the acquisition, management and stewardship of State-owned lands, or the preservation of State-owned historic sites, buildings, structures or objects which the ANCRC determines to be of value for recreation or conservation purposes, said properties to be used, preserved and conserved for the benefit of present and future generations.