American History Books

Anchored around the county seat of Jasper with a population of less than 500, Newton County is a nature lover's dream.

The majority of the county is composed of the Ozark National Forest and the scenic corridor of the Buffalo National River, the nation's first national river. Spring weekends find the area filled with vehicles bearing canoes and kayaks traveling to float the incomparable Buffalo River and, as year-round backpackers head out for scores of trails through the most striking wilderness in the eastern half of the nation. Amidst the scenery, long before the backpackers and vacationing families, Newton County was home to self-sufficient pioneers who began arriving in the early 1800s to build log cabins and farms to support their families--a spirit that remains today.

Independence County was created by the Arkansas Territorial Legislature on October 20, 1820. Settled long before then, the region had been claimed by both Spain and France. In 1819, an early traveler described Polk Bayou as being "pleasant and advantageous as a commercial and agricultural depot." The photographs in this book, many never before published, date back to the earliest days of the county, including some of the earliest homes in the area.

Join author Glenn Mosenthin as he recounts the history of Stuttgart, Arkansas and how the Mississippi River helped to create this progressive city.

Stuttgart was founded in 1880 by a colony of German Lutherans who moved from Ohio to Arkansas's Grand Prairie. The city grew steadily after the Cotton Belt Railroad arrived in 1883. A group of realtors promoted Stuttgart to residents of Midwestern states, attracting a large population influx. Initially, the main income sources were hay and cattle, but that changed forever after rice was successfully grown near Stuttgart. The first rice mill was built in 1907, followed in 1921 by the creation of a farmers' cooperative that is now the world's largest rice processor and marketer. By the 1930s, Stuttgart's location on the Mississippi Flyway, along with abundant surface water, led to its renown as a waterfowl hunter's paradise. The World Championship Duck Calling Contest has been held here since 1936, and today it is a nationally known event. In the post-World War II era, Stuttgart launched a successful industrial development campaign that resulted in today's progressive city.

Join Ray and Diane Hadley as they retell the history of the communities that make up Jonesboro and Arkansas's Northeast Corner in vintage images.

When Union soldiers returned North after the Civil War, they brought home stories of a sparsely populated area with bountiful timber and potential for homes and farms. Over the next 50 years, first by wagon train and then by railroads, settlers came to build not only homes and farms but also thriving communities in the Clay, Greene, and Craighead counties of northeastern Arkansas. Today, visitors and residents of the area see the bustle of Jonesboro and the thriving Arkansas State University. Readers of Jonesboro and Arkansas' Historic Northeast Corner will discover Jonesboro as it lived a century ago, a promising town of 7,000 citizens. As the 20th Century opened, modern and attractive towns such as Corning, Piggott, Rector, and Paragould began to thrive. The evolution of these historic areas-from slow-paced villages with dirt roads and horse-drawn wagons to the bustling towns of the late 20th century-is chronicled in this Images of America edition.

Arkansas has always been among the leading states whose people stepped up to defend the nation in times of war.

On a few thousand acres of land across the Arkansas River from the capital city of Little Rock, this dedication is evident. Images of America: Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore traces the area's military history from the founding of Fort Logan H. Roots in the late 1800s through the training for World War I and World War II, when as many as 50,000 men and women were stationed at Camp Robinson at any one time. This book pays tribute to the Arkansas National Guard, which is still based at Camp Robinson and has served countless times in times of war and natural disasters. Illustrated with rare photographs spanning more than a century, Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore commemorates one of the proudest military training grounds in the nation's history.

The University of Arkansas has a celebrated history that includes not only winning athletic teams, but also academic successes.

While most people immediately think of the Razorbacks in association with the University of Arkansas, the state's flagship educational institution has so much more to offer. First established in 1871 in Fayetteville, located in the scenic Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, the first permanent building on campus, Old Main, is also the most iconic with its towers standing like beacons. In 1948, the University of Arkansas became the first Southern university to integrate when WWII veteran Silas Hunt enrolled in law school; like Hunt, the lives and accomplishments of individuals, such as Sen. J. William Fulbright and architect E. Fay Jones, remain intertwined with the university and the world. Students remain the lifeblood of the university though, participating in traditions like homecoming, Senior Walk, and Razorback athletics with fierce pride. The photographs in this collection tell the stories of the first 125 years of the University of Arkansas.

Settled in part by the Native American tribes of the Mississippi Delta and later French explorers, the area was always an agricultural gold-mine. As seen in many farm reliant communities, education fell second to tilling the fields. As the rest of the world began its rapid ascension from agriculture to industrialization, the farmers of the Delta, poor and uneducated, were left behind the rest of the nation. This new book, featuring remarkable images of the one-room schoolhouses, teachers, and students of the many communities of the Delta, spans over two centuries, as the authors trace the history of education in the Arkansas Delta from its roots in the mid-19th century to its current state in the dawn of the 21st century.

Explore the once quaint farming town of Historic Monte NE. With images throughout the centuries, witness its transformation into a tourism hotspot during the 1920s.

Situated in a lush, spring-fed valley, the town of Silver Springs in Northwest Arkansas was once home to a small community of people who farmed, enjoyed the riches of rural life, and gathered at the local auditorium, gristmill, or tavern. Their world was forever changed in 1900 with the arrival of William Hope ""Coin"" Harvey. A fervent supporter of the ""free silver"" movement in the 1890s, Harvey had become disgruntled with the American financial system. Retreating to the pastoral valley, Harvey purchased 320 acres, renamed the community Monte Ne, and began to build a grand resort. It attracted visitors from across the country with its fertile landscape, large hotels, and private rail line. By the 1920s, Harvey had turned his attention to building a large ""time capsule"" pyramid, of which only the foyer, or amphitheater, was completed.

View the resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas from 1900-1960 in postcard images.

From the 1890s to the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this ""golden age"" can today be considered works of art. Early in the century, Hot Springs was among the most noted resorts in the nation. Its Victorian wonders drew thousands of visitors to partake in the hot mineral waters that bubbled from the earth. In the words written on one card in 1910, ""Many people of wealth are here from Chicago and New York. Uncle Billy went to the horse show ball at the Eastman Hotel with an ex-wife of a millionaire. Andrew Carnegie and young Jay Gould were at the ball. "" Showcased in this fascinating collection are over two hundred postcards from 1900 to 1960. The images are accompanied by the actual penned messages of visitors and extensively researched historical facts.