Corn Industry

As an important subsistence crop in Arkansas for centuries, corn was cultivated by both Native Americans and settlers. The role of corn in the success of settlements in the state cannot be overstated, as it proved to be a critical foodstuff for both humans and livestock. The crop was heavily cultivated leading up to World War II, although the state’s production decreased significantly after that. Much of the corn cultivated in Arkansas in twenty-first century is used in poultry feed.

Early Cultivation
Corn (or maize), native to North America, was grown by Native Americans for at least 9,000 years. Evidence shows the crop first being cultivated in west-central Mexico. Over the centuries, the crop spread northward, and other tribes adopted the food, with it becoming an important dietary staple. Native Americans who lived in what would become Arkansas—including the Caddo, Osage, Quapaw, Shawnee, and Tunica—have grown corn for more than 1,000 years. Quapaw women planted corn in rows about four feet apart with other crops placed between the plants, including beans and squash.

Early Explorers and Settlers
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his men recorded regularly eating corn provided to them by (or stolen from) Native Americans they encountered. French explorer Henri Joutel noted acres and acres of land under corn cultivation near Quapaw villages. French and Spanish troops stationed at Arkansas Post ate corn regularly, with the food coming from nearby Quapaws. Civilians moving to the area also regularly ate corn, typically either made into cornbread or sagamite, a dish made from cornmeal mixed with animal fat. By the early nineteenth century, thousands of settlers began arriving in the Arkansas territory, with many squatting on the land and planting small plots of various crops. According to author Ronald Switzer, the typical upland farmer in this period had about thirty acres of land under cultivation, including ten acres of corn, five of cotton, and the remainder planted with vegetables, tobacco, potatoes, and other crops.

Importance of Corn in Early Arkansas
Corn was an important cornerstone of the diet for many Arkansans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While much emphasis was placed on the cultivation of cash crops, especially cotton, corn proved to be even more important, as much of the diet of Arkansans revolved around it. In 1840, farmers in the state produced more than 4.8 million bushels of corn, which is approximately 268,800,000 pounds, while growing just over six million pounds of cotton. Over the next decade, the population of the state more than doubled, and the number of crops grown likewise grew. In 1850, more than twenty-six million pounds of cotton were ginned, with 498,060,584 pounds of corn harvested. This trend continued, with just under one billion pounds of corn produced in 1860 (and cotton production increasing to just under 147 million pounds).

Enslaved African Americans in Arkansas used corn regularly, in the form of cornmeal, often making cornpone or mush along with pork and molasses.

Grist Mills
While corn can be cooked as whole kernels and even eaten raw, most early Arkansans used cornmeal as the basis of their diets. In order to convert corn into cornmeal, the kernel must be ground. While small hand mills were brought to the state by early settlers, grist mills proved to be a much more efficient way to grind the corn. Often located next to streams, these water-powered mills became gathering places for members of the community as farmers brought their crops to be ground. The mill owner typically retained part of the cornmeal to cover the cost of grinding.

Civil War
Corn proved to be an important military resource for both the Union and Confederate armies in Arkansas during the Civil War. Troops relied on the crop for food, not only for themselves but for the thousands of horses, donkeys, and mules necessary for military operations. Troops often destroyed grist mills to deny the enemy access to cornmeal.

Civilians and enslaved people also relied on the crop during the war. The Arkansas General Assembly approved several large-scale purchases of corn to be distributed to the families of soldiers, although most of the civilians who received this relief were expected to pay the market cost for it.

Post–Civil War
The amount of crops produced in Arkansas, as well as in other states in the South, decreased in the years after the end of the Civil War. In 1870, Arkansas produced 749,400,120 pounds of corn, with ninety-nine million pounds of cotton grown that year. But by the 1880 United States Agricultural Census, the decline in agricultural production had reversed, with the state producing more than 1.3 billion pounds of corn and 243 million pounds of cotton in 1879. Other increases followed, with the corn harvest topping out at 2.47 billion pounds in 1900.

Decline of Corn Production
The amount of corn produced in the state declined in the twentieth century as agricultural mechanization increased, meaning that fewer workers and draft animals were needed to work in the fields. Farmers could then transition land that formerly grew corn to producing more lucrative crops. Although the amount of corn produced in the state decreased, the yield per acre increased due to advancements in agricultural research.

Between 1900 and 1940, yields began to increase due to the demand during World War I and World War II. In 1940, the state produced 1.89 billion pounds, with another 1.42 billion in 1945. After the war, production once again fell, hitting a low of 41,737,640 pounds in 1974. But by 1997, production had once again topped one billion pounds. The use of corn ethanol began to expand in the early twenty-first century, coupled with a growing poultry industry, leading to a similar increase in the production of corn in the state. In 2022, Arkansas farmers grew 6,863,381,504 pounds of corn, with much of it processed into poultry feed.

Products from Corn
An enduring image of Arkansas first promoted by visitors to the state in the early nineteenth century is that of a hillbilly. The image often includes details such as bare feet, a floppy hat, overalls, a corncob pipe, and an ever-present jug of moonshine. Corn-based moonshine and other home brews and distilled beverages were an important part of Arkansas culture during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, despite efforts to implement prohibition and otherwise reduce the popularity of the drinks. Corn is used in the twenty-first century by a number of distilleries across the state, and cornbread is celebrated at the annual Arkansas Cornbread Festival in Little Rock (Pulaski County).

For additional information:
Arnold, Morris S. “The Soldiers of Spain in Colonial Arkansas.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 77 (Winter 2018): 305–354.

Espinoza, Leo, and Jeremy Ross. Corn Production Handbook, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture: Research and Extension. https://uaex.uada.edu/publications/pdf/mp437/mp437.pdf (accessed August 5, 2025).

Hughes, Michael A. “Wartime Gristmill Destruction in Northwest Arkansas and Military-Farm Colonies.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 46 (Summer 1987): 167–186.

Kelley, Jason, and Chuck Capps. “2024 Arkansas Corn Quick Facts.” University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture: Research and Extension. https://uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/docs/2024-arkansas-corn-quick-facts.pdf (accessed August 5, 2025).

Key, Joseph P. “An Environmental History of the Quapaws, 1673–1803.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 79 (Winter 2020): 297–316.

Johnson, Ben, III. John Barleycorn Must Die: The War Against Drink in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2005.

“Plant of the Week: Corn—Where It Came From.” University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture: Research and Extension. https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/corn-origins-01-31-2020.aspx (accessed August 5, 2025).

Switzer, Ronald. Arkansas, Forgotten Land of Plenty: Settlement and Economic Development, 1540–1900. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2019.

Taylor, Orville. Negro Slavery in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2000.

Zornow, William Frank. “State Aid for Indigent Soldiers and Their Families in Arkansas, 1861–1865.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 14 (Summer 1955): 97–102.

David Sesser
Southeastern Louisiana University