calsfoundation@cals.org
May 10, 1816
Author Friedrich Gerstäcker was born in Hamburg, Germany. Gerstäcker visited Arkansas from 1838 to 1842 for periods of up to eighteen months at a time and afterward published essays, short stories, and novels that provided insights into folkways, social conditions, popular religion, gender roles, and a host of other topics relating to backwoods life in Arkansas.