Arkansas

From its establishment as a settlement known as
La Belle Pointe in 1817, to the founding of the town
of Fort Smith by John Rogers in 1839, to its present-day
life as a thriving community full of civic energy, the
area at the junction of the Poteau and Arkansas Rivers
has a long and colorful history.
In Fort Smith and Sebastian County, you are invited to
take a visual tour of the area as it was in the early days,
when the town of Fort Smith was located near the heart
of the Outlaw Territory. Learn about the impact that
outlaws such as Belle Starr, Cherokee Bill and the Rufus
Buck Gang, and Smoker Mankiller had on the area,
and discover why, on the floor of Congress, Judge Isaac
Parker's courthouse was described as a "slaughterhouse."
Also included in this collection are early snapshots
of local landmarks including the Goldman Hotel, the
Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, and the Union Station
Train Depot, as well as rare images of Sebastian County
residents at work and at play.

Tucked up in the rugged hills and fertile valleys of northwest Arkansas is the city of Springdale. Once a Native American community and officially settled as Shiloh, the mountainous region that would be Springdale attracted immigrant pioneers beginning in 1828 and rapidly flourished, establishing gainful agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing industries. Following the Civil War, however, the community felt the disastrous effects of the battles of Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove, which drained resources and stunted morale. Springdale residents struggled to maintain their livelihood, but it was not until the institution of the railroad in 1882 that their recovery caught fire. Agriculture on a larger scale once again proved lucrative, coupled with an influx of new immigrants. Springdale has diversified and expanded over time and is still drawing people to its abundant natural resources, its phenomenal scenic beauty, and its temperate climate.

Springdale: The Courage of Shiloh not only explores the extraordinary history of the city, but also highlights the lives of the families who survived the hardships of immigration and homesteading, the horrors of the Civil War, and the reconstruction and progress of Springdale. From John Holcombe, the founder of Shiloh, who envisioned a city growing from the springs surrounding his church, to the birth of the Frisco Railroad, which turned a small farming community into the Fruit Center of Arkansas, this amusing and enlightening tale traces a city's continuing evolution.

The town of Van Buren was first named after the area post office established in 1831 in honor of Martin Van Buren. The town, which grew up on the Arkansas River, officially took its name when the city was incorporated in 1842. Van Buren's "golden age" occurred in the mid-19th century as steamboats brought settlers, migrating Native Americans, slaves, and European immigrants to the frontier. With Indian Territory (Oklahoma) nearby, Van Buren was an entry point to the West, not unlike St. Louis and Kansas City. After the Civil War, railroads replaced the steamboat as the main mode of transportation and resource distribution across the country. Later, Interstate 40 was built, bisecting the town and contributing to the city's heritage as a transportation center.

Until recently, the footprints of history fell softly on Jacksonville, Arkansas. Situated 12 miles northeast of Little Rock and the Arkansas River, the Jacksonville area's first white settlers came to the Arkansas Territory in the early 1800s. Most traveled by the rough Southwest Trail from Missouri or the Military Road from Memphis, which also saw many Native Americans passing on their Trail of Tears. In 1836, Arkansas was admitted to the Union as a slave state. Registered as a town June 29, 1870, the coming of the railroad brought more people to Jacksonville. However, little changed here from 1870 to 1930, except women's hemlines, the arrival of automobiles, the telephone, and electricity. The rural community of about two hundred people built homes, raised cotton, and established churches and schools. Businesses prospered, and family names grew. Still, Jacksonville's main street remained unpaved. Improvements and growth began when a Civilian Conservation Corp camp was established during the Depression. Later, the Jacksonville Ordinance Plant employed thousands during WW II, and in 1955 the Little Rock Air Force Base was built, eventually swelling the population to almost 30,000 today.

From humble beginnings in 1873 as a water stop on the Cairo and Fulton Railroad, Cabot is now the largest city in Lonoke County.

Incorporated on November 9, 1891, Cabot had a dark history before its current incarnation--before the city existed, a typhoid epidemic left over 1500 Confederate soldiers dead and buried in poorly-marked graves, and the infamous Trail of Tears also passed through the town. But where there was tragedy, there was also success from the Butterfield Overland Express and the Southwest Trail. Despite its rich history, Cabot was often overshadowed by its larger neighbors, but the construction of the Little Rock Air Force Base in nearby Jacksonville saw the population of Cabot explode. In 1976, the city was devastated by a killer tornado that destroyed much of the old business district. Since its recovery from the storm, the city has experienced steady growth as a bedroom community to Little Rock and has been designated as an Arkansas boomtown.

During the Golden Age of Postcards, a craze that swept the nation in the early 1900s, postcard photographers captured images of everyday life in small towns all over the country. In this tradition, its creators unknowingly produced an invaluable archive of historical data that gives us a glimpse of the way life used to be.

Once described as the "wonder city" due to its rapid growth in the early 20th century, West Memphis reached a pinnacle of economic progress during the period from the Great Depression until the postwar era. Providing a gateway to the west of the Mississippi River, the city has evolved from uncultivated hardwood forests into one of the most traveled intersections in the United States. West Memphis has also been instrumental in launching the careers of famous young musicians, including B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Howlin' Wolf, and Elvis Presley. Images of America: West Memphis features over 190 unique images covering the lifespan of the city from the years prior to its inception through the mid-1970s.

First established by the French in 1686, Arkansas Post was the first permanent European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley. It played a key role in the long struggle between France, Spain, and England for control of the lucrative fur trade. The only battle of the American Revolution fought west of the Mississippi took place in Arkansas County. Located in the heart of the Grand Prairie, Stuttgart, one of two Arkansas County seats, is known as the duck and rice capital of the world. Bayou Meto and several lakes draw waterfowl to the area each fall, and ducks flocking to Stuttgart attract hunters from across the nation. Each November, the community hosts the World Championship Duck Calling Contest.

Throughout the years, the way people make a living has changed dramatically, beginning with farming and agriculture, and ending with the age of computers. This new postcard history showcases images of the state at work in the first 25 years of the twentieth century. Images show farmers in the rice fields, using horses and steam tractors, and harvesting cotton, hay, and corn. Later cards focus on the loggers who radically changed the landscape forever. Merchants and bankers of business, including pharmacies, were popular postcard fare as well; these establishments served the farmers who traveled into town, especially on Saturdays when the streets were filled with wagons, and later, cars.

Formed in 1820, Phillips County was named for Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler; Helena, the county seat, was named for Phillip's daughter and was incorporated in 1833.

Helena was a major river town and was the economic and social center of the region. Lumber mills, cotton-oil mills, railroads, and river traffic contributed to a thriving economy. Helena's various ethnic groups played an important role in society and commerce, including African Americans, Chinese, Lebanese, Greek, Italian, and others. Situated on the Mississippi River and the southern tip of Crowley's Ridge, Helena's history includes Hernando de Soto, Jacques Marquette, and seven confederate generals. The rich alluvial soil along the river attracted wealthy planters who transformed the forests into productive plantations and luxurious homes. In more recent years, Phillips County has suffered the loss of jobs and a declining population, resulting in a struggling economy.

Columbia County, located along the southern border of Arkansas and resting just above Louisiana, was created in 1852 from portions of four surrounding counties. Blessed with abundant natural resources--including timber, petroleum, natural gas, and bromine--and teeming with wildlife, the county's roots of ancestry and industry run deep. The Cotton Belt Railroad once distributed the superior long-staple cotton produced locally, which was used to weave the finest broadcloth west of the Mississippi. Columbia County is also known for the healing mineral waters of Magnesia Springs, which are now part of Logoly State Park. Today, the thriving Southern Arkansas University offers more than 60 degrees in four distinct colleges and is the only school in the world with a Mulerider as a mascot. Columbia County is surrounded by a tremendous expanse of great natural beauty and has produced a cornucopia of characters and storytellers; the authors hope to introduce them in these pages.

Once inhabited by French trappers and traders in the late 1700s, present-day Scott County was sold to the federal government as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Adventuresome early settlers found their way into the new territory by way of boat, horseback, and on foot to find plentiful natural resources that would sustain them through the hardships to come. This volume illustrates the rugged, pioneering character of the county, which has witnessed the ebbs and flows of the state throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From primitive dirt trails to the paved highways of today, this fascinating photographic history tells Scott County's progress through the years. The reader is sure to rediscover the beauty of the region's pastoral landscape, with its sprawling ranches and row-crop farms. Also included are flourishing churches, schools, and industries as well as Scott County residents at work and play.

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this golden age can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of Carroll and Boone Counties showcases
more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards available.

Monroe County is situated on some of the richest soil in the Arkansas Delta region and has supported an agrarian culture for more than two centuries. The initial survey point of the Louisiana Purchase lies here in a black-water swamp, marking the origin of nearly every township boundary and property line in 15 states. The Great Flood of 1927 devastated the county, destroying vast acres of farmland and displacing thousands of families. Monroe County is home to two large wildlife management areas, including the Cache River Wildlife Management area, where the ivory-billed woodpecker, once considered extinct, was sighted in 2004. However, the real history of Monroe County is a story of the brave and diligent people that cleared the land and forged a new life through prosperity and drought, driven by their love of family and friends.

Rediscover the rich heritage of Little Rock through its lost architectural treasures as told by Ray Hanley, a lifelong Arkansan and resident of Little Rock.

Little Rock is a sprawling city of about 200,000 at the center of a metropolitan area of more than 500,000 people, with many residing in bedroom communities in adjoining counties. Arkansas's capital city is much like the rest of Middle America with its outlying suburbs, gated communities, and shopping centers miles from the historic core. A century ago, however, Little Rock was markedly different and served a population of fewer than 50,000. The majority of citizens lived within blocks of the town center and did business downtown along rows of shops that, in many cases, dated to the late 1800s. Images of America: Lost Little Rock uses vintage photographs to reflect upon earlier times and the rich retail landscape that once filled the town. By exploring the legacies of buildings that have since been demolished, repurposed, or destroyed by fire, these images provide a sense of Little Rock's lesser-known heritage.