Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

This Day in Arkansas History

January 8, 1847

The Arkansas Democrat noted in an editorial that, in order for a U.S. deputy marshal to enforce law in the Indian Territory, he was forced to travel 160 miles from Little Rock (Pulaski County) just to reach Indian lands and then had to travel another 200 miles to get to the western boundary of his jurisdiction. This was compounded by the difficulty of capturing and transporting suspects back to Little Rock, as well as serving subpoenas to pertinent witnesses. Deputy marshals received the sum of two dollars per warrant and ten cents per mile of travel, from which they had to pay all their expenses. The division of the state’s judicial system into the Eastern District and Western District in 1851 helped alleviate these problems.

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About the Encyclopedia

The CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas is a free, authoritative source of information about the rich history, geography, and culture of Arkansas. It is updated regularly to ensure the people of Arkansas have an accurate and accessible resource to explore our heritage. We invite you to browse our text entries and media galleries to learn more about the people, places, events, legends, and lore of the 25th state. We are continually adding new entries, photographs, maps, videos, and audio files, so check back frequently to see what’s new.

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Our overview page covers everything you would want to know about our beautiful state, including state symbols, demographics and more!

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