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Welcome to the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas

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. It will also benefit people outside the state who are seeking information about Arkansas. 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. The CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas is a work in progress. We are continually adding new entries, photographs, maps, videos, and audio files, so check back frequently to see what’s new.

Photo Of The Day
Arkansas School for the Deaf

Parnell Hall on the campus of the Arkansas School for the Deaf in Little Rock (Pulaski County) was built in 1931 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is an example of Classical Revival–style architecture and, over the years, has been used for classrooms, a gymnasium, an auditorium, a chapel, and a library.

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This Day in Arkansas History
August 12, 1899

Arkansas’s sixth governor, Henry Massie Rector, died in Little Rock (Pulaski County). He is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery. He was, in the sagacious judgment of William Minor Quesenbury, “a violent man who fights people.” Not only did his two years in office reflect this, but he also pistol-whipped his sons’ schoolteacher because the man had disciplined one of his children. In retrospect, some would say his greatest moment came in defying President Abraham Lincoln’s call for troops. But in unifying a largely frontier state for the first modern war, he proved to be seriously lacking.

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