Lucille Westbrook (1918–2004)

Lucille Westbrook was a preservationist active in Howard County in southwestern Arkansas. She was the historian of Howard County, and she helped to found the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA), serving as its director from 1990 to 2002.

Edith Lucille Westbrook was born on May 12, 1918, in Nathan (Pike County) to Walter Westbrook and Wincie Parker Westbrook. Early in the 1920s, the family moved to Nashville (Howard County), where two brothers were born: James Westbrook in 1921 and Parker Westbrook in 1926. Lucille attended public school in Nashville, skipping the second grade and the eleventh grade to complete twelve years of education in ten years. She then enrolled in Harding College (now Harding University) in Searcy (White County), taking some classes before having to leave school and begin a full-time job, finances being tight during the Great Depression.

Westbrook worked from 1937 to 1940 as a clerk for the Employment Security Division of the State of Arkansas, then worked one year for the federal Agriculture Stabilization Committee in Howard County, Arkansas. She then gained a clerical position with the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army. During World War II, Westbrook worked at the Southwestern Proving Ground; after the war, she was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where she worked another twenty years for the Vicksburg District. Retiring from that position in 1963, Westbrook worked for six years in the Arkansas office of Senator James William (Bill) Fulbright. (Her brother Parker was an assistant to the senator in Washington DC.) She was appointed Howard County historian in 1968 and oversaw a column called “Early Files” in the Nashville News. The column featured photographs and timelines that educated readers about the history of Nashville and Howard County.

Westbrook was president of the Howard County Library Association. In 1975, she helped to found the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives in Washington (Hempstead County), which held its grand opening in 1978. The organization serves twelve counties in southwestern Arkansas. Its first offices consisted of two rooms and a fireproof vault in the old courthouse (built in 1874) in Washington. As the library grew, it was relocated into the Washington Elementary School building, which was sold after consolidation of schools in Hempstead County. Westbrook became the interim director of the archives in 1991 after the retirement of Mary Medearis; she remained in that position, serving on a volunteer basis, until 2003. In her work at the archives, she assisted many patrons in researching their ancestors. Westbrook was a charter member of the Mine Creek Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Westbrook wrote three books for historians, researchers, and genealogists: Tombstone Inscriptions from Corinth Cemetery, Howard County, Arkansas, 1850–1960; Corinth Revisited by its Kinfolks; and 1890 Census of Howard County.

Westbrook died in Nashville on January 31, 2004. In her memory, the Arkansas Historical Association established the Lucille Westbrook Award for the best manuscript article on an aspect of local Arkansas history. Louis Graves, publisher of the Nashville Leader, said of Westbrook, “If someone wanted to know something about a town, it was natural to call the local newspaper/editor. And when I couldn’t give them a satisfactory answer, I’d send them to Lucille. Lucille knew who was buried where and who their grandparents were. She knew why streets had certain names. She wanted them all spelled right, and she wanted someone to know why those streets got their names.”

For additional information:
Howard County Heritage Club. Howard County Heritage. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Company, 1988.

Lucille and Parker Westbrook Collection (BC.MSS.07.65). Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas. Finding aid online at https://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/bc.mss.07.65 (accessed May 7, 2025).

Nashville Leader. Reflections: A Pictorial History of Howard County, Arkansas. Marceline, MO: D-Books Publishing, Inc., 2004.

Steven Teske
Central Arkansas Library System