Historical Review of Arkansas

First published in 1911 by Fay Hempstead, Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern Affairs is a three-volume work that details the history of the state, along with providing entries on prominent citizens and detailed examinations of the culture and economy of the state.

Born in Little Rock (Pulaski County) in 1847, Hempstead attended St. Johns’ College before the Civil War. His father was an attorney and served as postmaster in Little Rock. Hempstead worked as a lawyer, followed by seven years as the Registrar in Bankruptcy for Arkansas. In 1881, Hempstead was elected as the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas Freemasons. In addition to this work, Hempstead wrote both poetry and prose. The Freemasons named him poet laureate of the organization in 1908. Hempstead wrote numerous works on Arkansas history, including A School History of Arkansas (1889), A Pictorial History of Arkansas: From Earliest Times to the Year 1890 (1890), and A History of Cryptic Masonry in Arkansas (1922).

Historical Review of Arkansas is the longest examination of Arkansas history completed by Hempstead. The three volumes of the work are divided into chapters and include multiple images and maps. The first volume is divided chronologically, with the first period titled “(Colonial) From Earliest Times to 1803.” The work opens with a brief examination of the European exploration of the future state and some references to the Native American inhabitants. The subsequent chapters detail the early settlement of the state, the colonial period, and the Louisiana Purchase. The second period, titled “(Ante-territorial) 1803 to 1819,” details the years that Arkansas belonged to the Louisiana and Missouri territories. Subsequent periods are titled “(Territorial) From 1819 to 1836,” “(Ante-bellum) From 1836 to 1861,” “(The Civil War) From 1861–1865,” and “From the Close of the War to 1911.”

The historical section is followed by chapters on various topics, including education and religion, art and literature, and finances and real estate. A section on the history of forty-two of the largest towns in Arkansas is followed by a conclusion with appendices of politicians, colleges and universities in the state, and a listing of the state’s counties. The second volume of the work includes biographical sketches of citizens of the state. The third volume likewise contains biographical sketches, including one on Hempstead.

The work does a robust job detailing the history of the state, along with additional details about the development and business economy that existed at the time of publication. The biographical sketches remain useful to genealogists and other researchers.

The text suffers from several problems. Hempstead writes, in a section detailing the relationship between enslaved people and their owners, that affection existed between the two groups, never examining in detail the horrors of chattel slavery as it was experienced by the enslaved in Arkansas. In the section covering the secession of Arkansas, Hempstead never addresses the thousands of Unionist Arkansans who did not want to see the state leave the United States, and he only briefly mentions Isaac Murphy’s stand as the only vote against the move at the Secession Convention. In thirty-three pages of text and images covering the experience of Arkansans in the Civil War, Hempstead includes a single short paragraph to detail the service of citizens in the Union army, with the remainder of the section focused on Confederate service. A paragraph in the section also purports to convey the experience of enslaved people during the war, claiming that the African Americans were loyal and faithful to their white masters during the conflict.

The book appeared in print in 1911, published by the Lewis Publishing Company in Chicago. A reprint of the set appeared in 1978, published by the Southern Historical Press.

The work continues to be a useful resource for anyone conducting a historiographical analysis of Arkansas history or those interested in family history.

For additional information:
Fay Hempstead Collection. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas. Finding aid online at https://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/findingaids/id/13381/rec/1 (accessed June 4, 2025).

Hempstead, Fay. Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern Affairs. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1911.

David Sesser
Southeastern Louisiana University