Photos of the Day - Starting with D

During his lifetime, several schools throughout the United States were named in honor of Church of Christ leader James Alexander Harding. Harding College, now Harding University, which opened at Morrilton (Conway County) in 1924, is the only Arkansas school to bear his name. The school, which moved to Searcy (White County) in 1934, is also the only school to be named in his honor after his death.

The first white people to inhabit the area known as Gillett came in 1881 from Fulton County, Illinois. A community soon began to develop, and in 1888, a town was platted on land owned by the Leslie brothers, Thomas and Henry. That same year, the first business was opened by William C. Champion. Today, the small city, known for its Coon Supper, is home to fewer than a thousand citizens.

In 1920, Floyd Brown, a Tuskegee Institute graduate, established Fargo Agricultural School near Brinkley (Monroe County), a private residential school for African-American students. The school offered “training for the head, hands and heart” and a high school education for hundreds of black students for almost thirty years. Students and friends are shown here gathered in front of the administration building, the fourth building constructed at the school. A small museum preserving the school’s history was opened at the former site of the school.

Arkansas newspaper cartoonist George Fisher created the “Old Guard Rest Home,” a popular cartoon series that depicted retired or politically defeated public figures lounging on the porch of an old house, their communal refuge. In the cartoon, “Old Guard” members reminisced or gave their perspectives on political events, with shirtless Governor Orval Faubus presiding. Members Governor Frank White (center) and Conway County sheriff Marlin Hawkins (in black hat) pose, in costume, for a photo at the fictional Old Guard Home; circa 1980s.

Many of Arkansas’s seventy-five counties are named in honor of United States politicians. Poinsett County, which was organized on February 28, 1838, was named in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was secretary of war at the time of the county’s creation. Poinsett, who served as the first U.S. minister to Mexico, is perhaps best known for a plant he brought from Mexico that also bears his name, the poinsettia.

Well into the twentieth century, many small communities incarcerated prisoners in primitive jails. Little concern was given to the safety or comfort of those held. The McGehee (Desha County) city jail, constructed in 1908, was one such typical facility.

The home of Confederate general Thomas C. Hindman, shown here surrounded by a near-barren wasteland, was located near Battery D in Helena (Phillips County). The battery was just one of four impressive earthen defensive fortifications built by Union forces to defend the city and was the site of the opening shots of major combat in the bloody 1863 Battle of Helena. The house was also the site of the murder of Hindman, who in 1868 was shot and killed by unknown assailants while sitting in the parlor.

Caroline Tracy Dye, better known as “Aunt Caroline,” was a highly respected seer in Jackson County whose name was recognized in Arkansas and the mid-South in the early years of the twentieth century. Dye, who never claimed to be a fortuneteller, enjoyed a large clientele from all over the mid-South, with an especially strong following from Memphis, Tennessee. She died on September 16, 1918, and is buried in Gum Grove Cemetery in Newport (Jackson County).

With the completion of Norfork Dam and the creation of the massive Norfork Lake in the late 1940s, travel became a bit more difficult for the people of Baxter County and the surrounding area. Subsequent to the filling of the lake, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made payments of more than $1 million to compensate the state for local bridges that were submerged and for the establishment of free ferries across the lake. The ferry that replaced the Henderson Bridge is shown here in 1959.

Fort Chaffee, just outside of Fort Smith (Sebastian County) and Barling (Sebastian County) has served the United States as an army training camp, a prisoner-of-war camp, and a refugee processing center. In the twenty-first century, 66,000 acres are used by the Arkansas National Guard as a training facility, with the Arkansas Air National Guard using the fort’s Razorback Range for target practice. Many of the World War II-era buildings, some of which are shown here in this photo from 2009, still stand but are in rapidly deteriorating condition.

In 1886, Forrest City (St. Francis) was home to one of the area’s largest hotels. Construction began on the forty-room Avery Hotel, located near the railroad depot, in 1885. Opening approximately a year later, the facility changed names over the years to the Belsor, the Forrest City Hotel, and finally the Marion. The building stood for almost seventy-five years before it was, as shown in this photograph, demolished.

The King of Clubs, located just north of Swifton (Jackson County) on U.S. Highway 67, operated for more than fifty years under the ownership of Bob and Evelyn King. The club was a familiar stop for some of the most famous pioneers in rock and roll in the 1950s and was especially favored by those who played the more Southern form of rock commonly termed rockabilly. Future stars such as Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, and Elvis Presley played at the club.

Lloyd “Arkansas Slim” Andrews, a native of Benton County, appeared in many western films of the 1940s and 1950s as a comic sidekick to such major stars as Tex Ritter and Gene Autry. In 1950, as the popularity of the B-western declined, Andrews accepted a role on a children’s television program in California; he performed on the show for the next thirty-four years. He returned to Arkansas in 1970 and died in Gravette (Benton County) in 1992. He is shown here on the left, next to western star Tex Ritter.

In 1955, Lee County native Robert McFerrin Sr. became the first black male to appear in an opera at the Metropolitan Opera house in New York City. However, his career at the Met was brief, being limited to ten performances in three seasons during three years. Although he sang in European opera houses and performed concerts extensively, he failed to attain major prominence. He is best remembered as the father of singer and conductor Bobby McFerrin, with whom he sometimes performed.

Actor and Little Rock (Pulaski County) native Gil Gerard first appeared on film as an extra in the 1970 movie Love Story. The brief exposure helped launch a career in advertising; he appeared in over 400 commercials. He also did a two-year stint on the soap opera The Doctors. His greatest success came as the lead in the late 1970s movie and television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Comic books such as this 1979 issue were among the many items sold to capitalize on the brief popularity of the series.

Flooding of the Spring River in northeast Arkansas is a yearly concern for citizens of small towns situated nearby. Williford (Sharp County), located less than a mile from the river, floods almost every year. Williford resident Judy Polston is shown here in 1962 standing at a corner of the Williford business district in the flood waters. A branch of the Sharp County Library can be seen in the background.

In 1918, approximately 1,000 airmen trained for aerial warfare in a plane such as the one shown here, at the 960-acre Eberts Field near Lonoke (Lonoke County). The U.S. Army’s Aerial Photography Section No. 32 also trained at Eberts Field. World War I ended shortly before the first class graduated. The training school was dismantled after the war, and the site today is nothing more than open fields and a golf course.

The Arkansas Scottish Festival is held every April on the campus of Lyon College in Batesville (Independence County). It began as the Ozark Scottish Festival in 1981 at what was then known as Arkansas College. The festival has grown significantly and evolved over the years but remains emblematic of the college and its Presbyterian roots. The Arkansas Scottish Festival is now known as one of the premier Scottish festivals in the southern United States. Bagpipe performances are one of the more popular attractions of the festival.

Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs (Garland County) is a department of the School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County). It is a 210-acre botanical garden located on four and a half miles of Lake Hamilton shoreline, with a mission to be a resource for people desiring to improve their aesthetic, cultural, and scientific knowledge of plants, gardening, architecture, and landscape architecture, within a woodland environment. Pictured here is its annual holiday light display.

Natalie Henry was born in 1907 in Malvern (Hot Spring County). An artist of national significance, Henry made her reputation as an easel painter and muralist during the Depression era. At the height of her career in 1939, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned her to paint a mural for the Springdale (Washington County) post office. In later years, Henry combined her interest in art with her business acumen, managing the Art Institute of Chicago School Store for twenty-three years. Pictured here is her 1976 wood block print Birds in Tree in the Winter.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Conway Twitty has sold over 50 million records. He recorded 110 albums, including this 1983 Christmas album, Merry Twismas. Born in Friars Point, Mississippi, as Harold Lloyd Jenkins, he was given his first guitar at age four. His family moved to what is now Helena-West Helena (Phillips County) when Jenkins was ten, and soon thereafter, he formed his first band, the Phillips County Ramblers. When he was recording at Sun Studios in Memphis, he took the stage name of Conway Twitty, combining the names of two cities—Conway (Faulkner County) and Twitty, Texas.

Roark Bradford was a popular journalist, novelist, and short-story writer of the twentieth century. The subject matter of much of his fiction focused on African-American life, though in a humorous and stereotypical manner. Much of his inspiration is said to have been drawn from his childhood memories of growing up in Tennessee and Arkansas. Among his many popular books, How Come Christmas, was published in 1930.

Shown here are two of the dozen or more different design patches worn on the uniforms of the crew of the USS Razorback, a Balao-class submarine that saw service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Decommissioned in 1979, the sub became part of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum located in North Little Rock (Pulaski County). The two patches are included in the museum’s collection of artifacts associated with the sub.

The annual Arkansas Folk Festival takes place on the third weekend in April in Mountain View (Stone County). Held since 1963, the event attracts thousands of people, such as the ones seen here in front of the county courthouse. The livelihood of many residents is based on tourism. The town has become nationally renowned for its folk music, and the downtown area is a popular place for impromptu “pickins” as musicians gather informally to perform

Novaculite—a hard, abrasive sedimentary rock—is found in large amounts in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. It is perhaps the state’s oldest mined mineral, with evidence of its use dating back to prehistoric times. Most people are familiar with its use as a blade-sharpening stone, but it has other uses. Novaculite is shown here being marketed as nail files, with each color being a different grade of abrasion.

Alexander Asboth was one of more than one hundred Hungarians who served as officers in the American Civil War. Asboth immigrated to the United States after his participation in the failed Hungarian Revolution in 1848. During the American Civil War, he rose to the rank of brigadier general, participating in a number of battles, including the 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas.

The so-called Headquarters House in Fayetteville (Washington County) was built in 1853 by Judge Jonas Tebbetts. A staunch Unionist during the Civil War, Tebbetts and his family fled the house in late 1862, never to return. It saw extensive damage during the 1863 Action at Fayetteville and was used as a headquarters by opposing sides at various times. The house was turned over to the Washington County Historical Society in 1967, which began operating it as a museum of history.

Irene Castle was a famous ballroom dancer from the 1910s to the 1930s and appeared in several silent movies and many Broadway shows. She moved to Eureka Springs (Carroll County) in 1954 and became known for her work for animal rights. She and her husband lived on a fruit farm near the resort city. She died of heart failure in 1969 at Eureka Springs Municipal Hospital.

Author Tom Perkins Morgan was also a well-known newsstand and bookstore owner in Rogers (Benton County) from the late 1800s to 1918. In that year, he sold the Post Office Bookstore to concentrate on his writing. As a nationally known author, he published many stories about Ozark life in magazines such as Life and the Saturday Evening Post. Never marrying, Morgan spent much of his time alone writing, sometimes well into the night. Five years before his death in 1928, he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered.

Riverfest Arts and Music Festival is Arkansas’s premier summer event, offering three days of music, arts, food, and children’s activities over Memorial Day weekend. The festival is held on the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock (Pulaski County) and North Little Rock (Pulaski County). Operated by Riverfest Inc., a nonprofit organization overseen by a board of directors, Riverfest attracted more than 250,000 people in 2011, creating an economic impact of $33 million in the local community.

By the late 1800s, with the growth of railroads, northwest Arkansas became the dominant apple-producing region in the state. By the turn of the twentieth century, the largest employers in the Benton and Washington county area were the apple evaporators. The operation shown here located in Lowell (Benton County) was just one of the approximately 250 evaporators that processed the area’s low-grade fruit. With the introduction of government regulation, the industry became almost extinct by the late 1920s.

The Women’s Community Club Band Shell, which is located at the northeast corner of Spring Park in Heber Springs (Cleburne County), was built in 1933. The band shell is important as a study of the cultural and social development of a central Arkansas resort community and provides a good example of a New Deal public works project. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

On February 5, 2008, several areas of Arkansas, including Clinton (Van Buren County), Mountain View (Stone County), and Gassville (Baxter County), were devastated by tornadoes. Shown here is some of the major damage incurred at Gassville, where several people were injured and one killed.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park is located in central Arkansas near the northeast corner of the Ouachita Mountains. The park is named for the first prominent cone-shaped mountain encountered by early westward travelers as they emerged from the alluvial plains of eastern Arkansas. Its cone-like appearance has long beckoned travelers and residents alike to ascend its peak for breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and valleys.

Arkansas is known for its many natural wonders, including a number of caves that have been opened over the years for public viewing. One such cave, Diamond Cave, located near Jasper (Newton County), was once a popular tourist attraction open to the public from the 1920s to the mid-1990s. It is known for its colorful stalactites, stalagmites, and columns that run for many miles into the surrounding mountain.

On November 21, 1879, Father Beatus Maria Ziswyler organized Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as St. Mary’s Catholic Church, on Pond Creek Mountain near Altus (Franklin County). The church’s original frame building was constructed in 1881 at a cost of $1,000. The present Catholic church, shown here, was dedicated on September 2, 1902, and is built of native stone quarried nearby. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the many festivals held each year throughout the state is the Fordyce on the Cotton Belt Festival, celebrated each April in Fordyce (Dallas County). In 1982, the second year of the celebration, Arkansas native Johnny Cash performed, donating the proceeds to the community, thus ensuring the financial security of the event. Cash, wife June, and son John are shown here riding in the 1982 festival parade. The wagon is being driven by Joe Bill Meador, the festival’s organizer.

In 1988, the name of the Blytheville Air Force Base was officially changed to Eaker Air Force Base. The renaming of the 3,778-acre military facility was intended to honor air pioneer and commander of the Mighty Eighth Air Force during World War II, Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker. The base contributed greatly to the economic and intellectual growth of the primarily agricultural county until it closed in 1992. Eaker is shown here during World War II.

In 1996, Scottie Pippen, shown here (left) with teammate Michael Jordan, was named one of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History.” Pippen’s is an amazing story in that his college career at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) began with him as the team manager. Before leaving college, the Hamburg (Ashley County) native was named a two-time NAIA All-American. A seventeen-year NBA veteran, he was a seven-time All-Star selection and a member of six World Championship teams. He was also a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Timberfest, held in Sheridan (Grant County) on the first weekend of October each year, is just one of the many festivals held during the fall in Arkansas. Begun in 1982, the festival celebrates the history of the area’s timber industry. Funds raised by the event’s sponsor, the Grant County Chamber of Commerce, are used to fund scholarships for Grant County students.

Kentucky native Benjamin Johnson moved to Arkansas in 1821 after he was appointed as one of the three judges of the Superior Court of the Arkansas Territory, an office he held for approximately fifteen years. In 1836, he was appointed the state’s first federal district judge. Approximately three years before this appointment, the newly formed Johnson County was named in his honor. Johnson died in the summer of 1849 and is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock (Pulaski County).

Towers have long been used throughout the United States to assist in the prevention and fighting of forest fires. Such towers allow observers to spot dangerous fires before they have a chance to spread. One such tower in Arkansas is shown here in the 1940s near Delight (Pike County).

Mule-drawn cars were instituted as public transportation in Little Rock (Pulaski County), the state’s capital city, in 1876. Approximately a year later, street cars to transport busy citizens were introduced along Main Street. A crew is shown here working on those street car lines in 1910. Though the street car was discontinued sometime in the mid-twentieth century, parts of Little Rock, including the River Market District, once again became home to a street-car service in the twenty-first century.

The Clover Bend community in southeast Lawrence County was the site of a successful attempt to combat the socioeconomic problems that plagued the Great Depression era. When consolidation closed the Clover Bend school district in 1983, the Clover Bend Historic Preservation Association was formed to preserve the history of the area. The historic district consists of ten buildings, including five from Clover Bend High School, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Shown here is the school’s gymnasium.

The baitfish industry did not appear in Arkansas until the mid-1940s, following World War II. The industry quickly grew and today is a major economic force in Lonoke, Prairie, Monroe, and Greene counties, where most of the state’s baitfish are raised. In the early twenty-first century, Arkansas had an estimated 24,000 acres of baitfish ponds. Many are visible to air travelers as they approach Little Rock (Pulaski County) from the east. All baitfish farms in Arkansas are family operations or partnerships, and the vast majority are small businesses. Baitfish farmers are shown here harvesting minnows from a Lonoke County commercial pond.

Beaver Dam, which creates Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas, is a 2,575-foot-long dam, consisting of a 1,333-foot-long concrete section keyed into a limestone bluff, 1,242 feet of earth and rock embankment, and three small earth and rock dikes that fill gaps between adjacent hills. Maximum height of the dam above the streambed is 228 feet. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in 1960, with the overall project completed in 1966.

Saline County native Francis Irby Gwaltney was a scholar, professor, and author of significant novels dealing with the South. Gwaltney wrote eight novels, with his most critically acclaimed and commercially successful being The Day the Century Ended (1955). Drawing on his World War II combat experiences, he crafted a gripping story about the relationships between poor and rich Arkansas soldiers in the South Pacific. The book was made into the movie Between Heaven and Hell. Gwaltney died in 1981.

President Harry Truman (center), a 35th Division veteran, marched in the unit’s Reunion Parade held on June 11, 1949, in Little Rock (Pulaski County). He later spoke at the dedication of War Memorial Stadium. Shown here marching with him are Defense Secretary Louis Johnson (left of Truman) and Governor Sid McMath (right of Truman) .

The St. Louis Southwestern No. 819 (SSW 819), constructed in 1943, was the last 4-8-4 locomotive steam engine built in Arkansas. At a cost of $143,607, the engine, which was built in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), was officially placed on active service on February 8, 1943. After ten and a half years of service and 804,000 miles traveled, it was retired. In 1955, it was presented to the City of Pine Bluff by Cotton Belt officials. The engine has been restored and is part of the collection of the city’s Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff. This photo was taken at the Fordyce on the Cotton Belt Festival in 1986.

For over three decades, Earl Bell of Jonesboro (Craighead County) was the premier pole vaulter in the United States. As a member of the Arkansas State University (ASU) track team in 1976, he set the world record at 18’ 7.25”. Bell achieved many honors, including twelve NCAA championships, five NCAA records, and many national titles. A three-time Olympian, he won the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles games. In 1991, he founded his own training facility near Jonesboro, Bell Athletics, which in 2004 produced one-half of the U.S. Olympic pole-vaulting team.