Fort Chaffee Barbershop Museum To Open in July

A little more than 50 years ago, one of the most famous haircuts this side of the Bible took place at Fort Chaffee military base, adjacent to Fort Smith.

Elvis Presley was drafted into the military in March 1958, and got his ears lowered at the Fort Chaffee reception area barbershop along with the rest of the new GIs.

This summer, the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority will reopen the barbershop as a completely refurbished museum chronicling its history, said Ivy Owen, executive director of the FCRA.

For many years, people referred to the building as the “Elvis” barbershop. The museum won’t be able to use Elvis’ name or likeness in its advertising but Owen doesn’t see that as a major hurdle.

Most likely, the museum will open by July or early August, and will probably be called the Fort Chaffee Barbershop Museum, Owen said.

Some of the original items in use at the time Elvis was there have been returned, such as the barber pole and one of the chairs, donated by one of the barbers who was there on that day in 1958.

The total budget for the restoration of the barbershop is about $29,000.