Images d'Amérique : Arkansas Séries

Cette série explore le riche passé de l'État américain de l'Arkansas à travers une collection captivante de photographies d'époque. Chaque volume révèle les cultures, traditions et transformations uniques des petites villes et des centres-villes de tout l'État. Explorez le passé à travers des images visuellement attrayantes qui racontent les histoires des personnes, des lieux et des événements qui ont façonné cet État américain. Découvrez l'esprit durable et le patrimoine préservés dans chaque image.

Ordre de lecture recommandé

Stuttgart
Glenn Mosenthin
128pages
5 heures de lecture
Join author Glenn Mosenthin as he recounts the history of Stuttgart, Arkansas and how the Mississippi River helped to create this progressive city. Stuttgart was founded in 1880 by a colony of German Lutherans who moved from Ohio to Arkansas's Grand Prairie. The city grew steadily after the Cotton Belt Railroad arrived in 1883. A group of realtors promoted Stuttgart to residents of Midwestern states, attracting a large population influx. Initially, the main income sources were hay and cattle, but that changed forever after rice was successfully grown near Stuttgart. The first rice mill was built in 1907, followed in 1921 by the creation of a farmers' cooperative that is now the world's largest rice processor and marketer. By the 1930s, Stuttgart's location on the Mississippi Flyway, along with abundant surface water, led to its renown as a waterfowl hunter's paradise. The World Championship Duck Calling Contest has been held here since 1936, and today it is a nationally known event. In the post-World War II era, Stuttgart launched a successful industrial development campaign that resulted in today's progressive city.
Washington
Joshua Williams
128pages
5 heures de lecture
Located on the Southwest Trail that connected St. Louis to Texas, the town of Washington was established in 1824 in the southwest corner of Arkansas. Named after the first president of the United States, Washington is an example of a true American town with the city streets bearing the names of famous countrymen. American icons such as James Bowie, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett all passed through this unique community. One of its citizens, a local blacksmith, made a knife for Bowie, which became infamously known as the Bowie Knife. During the last two years of the Civil War, Washington became the capital of the Confederate government of Arkansas. In later years, it was bypassed by the railroad, and the town faced decline. In the 20th century, concerned citizens pushed for its restoration, and today Washington consists of a state park that continues to tell the story of this unique community to future generations.
Hot Springs: From Capone to Costello
Robert K. Raines
128pages
5 heures de lecture
4,0(10)Évaluer
In the late 1800s, Hot Springs, Arkansas, was a small town with a big attraction: hot thermal water. The federal government took possession of the downtown-area springs, and bathhouse row was born, along with the first property that would be considered a national park. Following not too far behind were great entrepreneurs who brought in gambling and prostitution to go with the area's leading industry: moonshining. By the time the 20th century rolled in, Hot Springs was booming with tourists and became America's first resort. In the early 1930s, former New York gangster Owen Madden took up residence in the spa city, and things became very organized. Gangland luminaries from Al Capone to Frank Costello made regular pilgrimages over the next few decades to what was referred to as "the loose buckle in the Bible Belt."
Newport and Jackson County
Tim Watson
128pages
5 heures de lecture
For almost 200 years, Jackson County has been a typical farming community in the Mississippi Delta. Based on timber, cotton, and freshwater pearls, its early economy produced great wealth for a small group of landowners. In the 1920s, Jackson County was the 10th-largest cotton producer in the country. However, with the arrival of the tractor in the 1950s and the departure of the laboring classes, the county's economy spiraled downward. The tensions in this social mix led to a creative fermentation that allowed Jackson County to become one of the birthplaces of rock and roll. Images of America: Newport and Jackson County tells many of the colorful stories of the history of the county, from land barons and sharecroppers to Elvis, illuminating the rich heritage of its apparently simple towns and communities.
Prairie County
Bill Sayger
128pages
5 heures de lecture
Prairie County was aptly named when it was organized in 1846, as a large portion of its southern end was covered with prairie grass at the time. In 1904, W.H. Fuller raised the first successful rice crop on the Grand Prairie, and today the state is the largest producer of rice in the nation. Soybeans, corn, and cotton are also important crops in the county. Hunters and fishermen are drawn to the White and Cache River National Wildlife Refuges and other areas, giving the local economy a considerable boost. Following westward expansion and the forced removal of (or "push to remove") Native Americans, Prairie County was settled primarily by whites from other Southern states and built with their established slave system. During the Civil War, large numbers of Union troops were stationed at DeValls Bluff to protect the port and railhead there, which was crucial to their operations. From 1880 to around 1910, there was a large influx of English, German, and Eastern Europeans or their descendants to the southern half of the county, contributing to the rich history of the county.
Columbia County
Laura J. Cleveland
130pages
5 heures de lecture
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.
Historic Pulaski County
Paulette Walter
130pages
5 heures de lecture
In 1818, long before the state of Arkansas came into existence-when the land that would become Arkansas was still part of the Missouri Territory-Pulaski County was created by the Missouri legislature. It was named in honor of Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, who joined the American Revolution in 1777. Featuring over two hundred images from various sources, including the authors' personal collection, Historic Pulaski County covers the communities of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Levy, and Jacksonville. The authors provide a fascinating look at military life at Camp Pike and Camp Robinson. From the 1840s to the 1990s, the county's past is illustrated by scnenes of local people, places, and events that helped shape the last two centuries.
Fort Smith
Kevin L. Jones
128pages
5 heures de lecture
5,0(2)Évaluer
Fort Smith’s story reflects the growth of America. The small frontier fort, established in 1817, served as a link to the emerging West and was occupied by Federal troops until the 1870s. The US District for Western Arkansas and Indian Territory was also centered here, as judge Isaac C. Parker, attorney William H.H. Clayton, marshals Heck Thomas, Bass Reeves, Jacob Yoes, and many others sought to civilize the Wild West. Lawmen, farmers, blue-collar workers, civic leaders, and creative business owners built a hub of culture, health care, transportation, and enterprise. The evolution of Fort Chaffee since the 1940s and the addition of the Arkansas Air National Guard in the 1950s also shaped the economy and patriotism of the area. The progression in education and commerce over time reveals further success. Fort Smith’s development is tied to natural resources, a drive toward the future, and its celebration of the past.
Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore
Ray Hanley
128pages
5 heures de lecture
Arkansas has always been among the leading states whose people stepped up to defend the nation in times of war. On a few thousand acres of land across the Arkansas River from the capital city of Little Rock, this dedication is evident. Images of America: Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore traces the area's military history from the founding of Fort Logan H. Roots in the late 1800s through the training for World War I and World War II, when as many as 50,000 men and women were stationed at Camp Robinson at any one time. This book pays tribute to the Arkansas National Guard, which is still based at Camp Robinson and has served countless times in times of war and natural disasters. Illustrated with rare photographs spanning more than a century, Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore commemorates one of the proudest military training grounds in the nation's history.
Delta Music and Film: Jefferson County and the Lowlands
Jimmy Cunningham
128pages
5 heures de lecture
4,0(1)Évaluer
The Delta Lowlands, a place of stunning innovation and creativity in music and film, has laid an incredible foundation for American entertainment. Talented singers, producers, and musicians from a narrow stretch of Arkansas Delta land--traversing U.S. Highway 65 south near England down to Pine Bluff and on through Lake Village/Eudora--have garnered every conceivable distinction, including Grammys as well as Country Music Association (CMA), Gospel Music Association (GMA), Stellar, Dove, Soul Train, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and other music awards. The mosaic of cotton blossoms, catfish farms, blues juke joints, foot-stomping churches, and rich Delta dirt has also served as the training ground for legends in blues, R&B/soul, country music, jazz, and gospel. In film and television, the Delta Lowlands has birthed the invention of sound in movies, the development of slow-motion footage, the creation of television's Neilson's ratings, the first western-genre movie star, a cadre of Emmy and Oscar award-winning personalities, and a television tower that was once the second tallest man-made structure in the world.
Lost Little Rock
Ray Hanley
128pages
5 heures de lecture
5,0(1)Évaluer
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.
Hot Springs National Park
Mary Bell Hill
128pages
5 heures de lecture
One of America's first national parks, Hot Springs has welcomed the famous and the infamous, all seeking the healing elements of her waters. Hot Springs was one of the first areas set aside as a federal land reservation in 1832--predating the first national park at Yellowstone by 40 years. In 1921, it was officially designated a national park. Physically the smallest of the 59 US national parks today, Hot Springs measures just larger than 5,500 acres. Its 47 on-site springs produce more than 700,000 gallons of thermal water per day. From early natives who quarried novaculite found in the surrounding hills to famous politicians, performers, and athletes, people have been coming to these springs for thousands of years to partake in the supposed healing powers of the water. President Franklin Roosevelt, boxer Jack Dempsey, and French opera diva Lily Pons are a few of the visitors who made the trek to the Valley of the Vapors. The history of Hot Springs National Park revolves around people's' interactions with its thermal water.
Jacksonville, Arkansas
Kay Marnon Danielson
130pages
5 heures de lecture
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.
Little Italy
Chris Dorer
128pages
5 heures de lecture
5,0(3)Évaluer
Originally called Alta Villa (the "high place"), Little Italy was settled in 1915 by a group of northern Italian immigrants who came to Arkansas looking for an opportunity to achieve the American dream. Though smaller than other Italian colonies in the state, like Tontitown or Lake Village, Little Italy's centralized location and skilled winemakers created the perfect atmosphere for a Prohibition-era oasis where central Arkansans could purchase clean, safe alcohol at a time when thousands throughout the nation had died because of poisonous, alcoholic brews. Recognizing the value of this operation, regional politicians allowed the residents of Little Italy to continue producing wine and cognac, thus establishing the community as a regional curiosity and a popular weekend travel destination.
Walnut Ridge and Hoxie
Jon Walter
128pages
5 heures de lecture
When word came to "Old" Walnut Ridge that the railroad was coming, Col. Willis Miles Ponder moved the entire settlement a few miles, cleared a site for a depot, and platted the new town in 1874. Not long after, Hoxie was formed when Henry and Mary Boas offered a right-of-way for another railroad through their land just south of Walnut Ridge. Born by the railroads, the towns have been joined at the hip ever since. By 1889, there was a mule-drawn streetcar connecting the two towns, replaced by an electric streetcar in 1904. Hit hard by the Depression, the towns were saved in part when Walnut Ridge was selected as the home of a World War II Army Air Field, resulting in an influx of 4,000 people. This facility is now used as a city airport, industrial park, and home of Williams Baptist College. Images of America: Walnut Ridge and Hoxie illustrates the boom times and the struggles of these towns through their first 100 years.
Chicot County
Blake Wintory
128pages
5 heures de lecture
5,0(1)Évaluer
Chicot County, situated along the Mississippi River, was created in 1823. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans like Frenchman René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle visited the region. With the French influence, the area came to be known as Chicot for the "snags" and "stumps" that populated the swampy bottomlands of the Mississippi River. Beginning in the 1830s, slave-based agriculture dominated the county's economy. By 1860, it was filled with prosperous cotton producers; many plantations were concentrated near the Mississippi River. The county's three principal towns--Dermott (1890), Lake Village (1898), and Eudora (1904)--incorporated as the county began to modernize. Local merchants flourished in the early decades of the 20th century, and Lake Village, situated on Lake Chicot, attracted many tourists. More recently, the county has suffered population loss and struggled economically, but agriculture still thrives, and the county's proud traditions continue.
African Americans of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County
Donna Cunningham
130pages
5 heures de lecture
Pine Bluff/Jefferson County has been one of the Arkansas Delta’s most culturally rich areas since its inception in 1829. Serving as a haven for runaway slaves during the late years of the Civil War, the area attracted droves of African Americans throughout the Delta and south Arkansas. Brimming with talent and expectations, they and their descendants traveled a road full of extremes. Although they endured what appears to have been the largest mass lynching in US history in 1866, they also attained one of the largest per-capita concentrations of black wealth in the entire South by 1900. As the hands that labored in the area’s boundless cotton fields and sawmills joined with the hands that held books at the state’s only historically black public college, astonishing accomplishments were churned out in every imaginable field. Naturally, Pine Bluff/Jefferson County’s Delta roots made its blues, jazz, and gospel contributions a source of pride, with native or area-affiliated artists receiving multiple Grammy awards and nominations, as well as other distinctions.
Harrison
Nate Jordon
128pages
5 heures de lecture
Nestled in the heart of the Ozarks of north central Arkansas, Harrison is a small city that embodies an intriguing history within the state. The seat of Boone County, Harrison was incorporated on March 1, 1876, during Reconstruction. It is named after Marcus LaRue Harrison, a brigadier general in the Union cavalry who surveyed and platted the city. Harrison is noted for its active national historic district. For over 100 years, the historic town square has featured shops, cafes, a theater, a post office, a hotel, and government offices, as well as the county courthouse, which sits in the center of the square. Harrison has been able to maintain its history through community leadership and conservation efforts. Many of the citizens in the city and in the surrounding area have been here for generations and take great pride in their history, heritage, and community.
Van Buren
Tom Wing
128pages
5 heures de lecture
4,4(3)Évaluer
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.