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This Day in Arkansas History

September 21, 1931

In its “Religion” section, Time magazine referred to “the Battle of Jonesboro.” The town had made headlines in the New York Times for what became known as the Jonesboro Church Wars. Following fiery preaching by evangelist Joe Jeffers, two opposing factions, one described as fundamentalist and the other as more moderate, fought each other in the streets, and gunfire was exchanged before order was restored. Local police were of little use as they wanted to join the fight by taking sides. Governor Harvey Parnell called out the National Guard and ten state policemen to keep peace. The guardsmen stood ready with machine guns and fixed bayonets, and an airplane bearing tear-gas bombs circled the town.

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Charles Brough

The twenty-fifth governor of Arkansas, Charles Hillman Brough (1917-1921), was a strong supporter of public education in the early part of the twentieth century. As governor, he pushed for property taxes to fund schools, established compulsory school attendance, established an illiteracy commission, and was a strong supporter of both vocational and special education. He is shown here in his official gubernatorial portrait.

 

The twenty-fifth governor of Arkansas, Charles Hillman Brough (1917-1921), was a strong supporter of public education in the early part of the twentieth century. As governor, he pushed for property taxes to fund schools, established compulsory school attendance, established an illiteracy commission, and was a strong supporter of both vocational and special education. He is shown here in his official gubernatorial portrait.

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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, quizzes, lesson plans, and more, so check back frequently to see what’s new.

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