January 22, 1910

Pennsylvania native writer Will Lighton, who bought a dilapidated farm in Fayetteville (Washington County), published a story called “The Story of an Arkansas Farm” in the Saturday Evening Post; the story’s publication resulted in a stream of curious visitors to Arkansas. Later expanded into a book, Happy Hollow Farm, Lighton’s story attracted more than 200 “back-to-the-land” settlers to Fayetteville. In 1910 and 1911, he edited a magazine, Back to the Land, printed in Fort Smith (Sebastian County), featuring articles by Lighton and others. Lighton eventually moved to Hollywood to try his hand at screenwriting. The Happy Hollow Farm house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.