Arkansas River Valley

The Arkansas River Valley (usually shortened to River Valley) is a region in Arkansas defined by the Arkansas River in the western part of the state. Generally defined as the area between the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, the River Valley is characterized by flat lowlands covered in fertile farmland and lakes periodically interrupted by high peaks. Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo, and Petit Jean Mountain compose the Tri-Peaks Region, a further subdivision of the River Valley popular with hikers and outdoors enthusiasts. In addition to the outdoor recreational activities available to residents and visitors of the region, the River Valley contains Arkansas's wine country as well as hundreds of historical sites throughout the area. It is one of six natural divisions of Arkansas.

Definition

The Arkansas River Valley is not formally defined along county boundaries, including all of Logan and Sebastian counties and portions of Conway, Franklin, Johnson, Perry, Pope, and Yell counties.

Subdivisions

* Arkansas Valley Hills - North and east of the Arkansas River, sometimes associated with the Ozarks
* Bottomlands - Low swamps and prairies along the Arkansas River itself, wide in some places
* Fort Smith metropolitan area - Sebastian, Crawford, and Franklin counties in Arkansas (also includes Le Fore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma)
* Ozark National Forest - a small, discontinuous portion of the federally protected area is within the region
* Tri-peaks Region - Region punctuated by three steep mountains: Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo and Petit Jean Mountain
* Valley - south of the Arkansas River, level plains and gently rolling hills
* Wine Country - American Viticultural Area near Altus

History

In the Pre-Colonial era, the River Valley was inhabited by Native American tribes, including Caddo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, Tunica, and Quapaw tribes. Most first encounters describe scattered villages and individual farmsteads in the River Valley, unlike the organized "towns" and groves and orchards encountered in eastern Arkansas. Much of what is known about these early societies has been uncovered by the Arkansas Archaeological Survey and the Arkansas Archaeological Society at Carden Bottoms in Yell County near the Arkansas and Petit Jean Rivers. Research at the site has linked artifacts to cave art (pictured at right) in a cave on Petit Jean Mountain, as well as establishing links to the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw tribes.

Hernando de Soto became the first European explorer to enter Arkansas in 1541. His expedition of 600 Spanish explorers searching for gold and riches crossed into Arkansas across the Mississippi River, and explored the state for the next two years. The expedition traveled to Tanico, an important city somewhere in the River Valley, in September 1542. The following month, the expedition fought with a tribe referred to as the Tula somewhere near Fort Smith. This fighting apparently caused de Soto to turn the expedition back east, leaving the River Valley.

Civil War

Reconstruction through New South

Following the war, the Southern economy was in shambles, including Arkansas. The cost of the war effort, loss of human capital, and Confederate currency losing value were serious issues for the South in addition to the destruction of property, infrastructure, and crops. Many parts of Arkansas had descended into lawlessness and violence between whitecapping groups (including the Ku Klux Klan), freedmen, Republicans, and unaffiliated bandits taking advantage of the chaos. Indicative of the disarray, Radical Republican Governor Powell Clayton declared martial law in ten counties following reelection in 1868.. Although no River Valley counties were initially subject to the proclamation, Clayton added four more counties, including one partial-River Valley county, Conway County. Since settlement, the River Valley had been a largely cashless society with significantly less reliance on slave labor compared to plantation agriculture areas like the Arkansas Delta and elsewhere in the Deep South. The Klan had limited support, and much of the area was viewed steadily Re
Due to its relatively strong position following the Civil War, the River Valley attracted new settlement throughout Reconstruction. Populations of Austrian Catholics, German Catholics, and German Catholics and Lutherans were relocating to the River Valley. Some immigrated directly from Europe, but most came from early settlements in the Ohio River Valley. The Lutherans generally immigrated in organized companies, where the Catholics came independently, although some Catholic settlements like Clarksville and Subiaco were founded by organized groups. These settlements received support from existing immigrant populations in Little Rock and Fort Smith, and groups of Protestant settlers also establishing settlements in the area. Several of the River Valley's small towns were founded by these groups, beginning as small clusters of immigrants and evolving into cohesive communities.

Many immigrants came to the River Valley searching for agricultural prosperity, particularly by farming cotton, which could fetch high prices at market and quickly turn a farm into a profitable enterprise. Upon arriving in the region, many found only densely forested upland to be the only property they could afford. River Valley soil and climate are much less conducive to cotton cultivation than the Arkansas Delta, and many settlers struggled. Eventually, a preference for mixed farming emerged, including potatoes and other garden vegetables, to protect against a poor cotton crop sending a farm into economic ruin.

Coal Mining

Coal mining was an important industry in the River Valley's early history. Dangerous and demanding, the industry attracted Swiss and German immigrants who were unable to establish productive farms. Mining became prominent by 1873, especially around the Altus area. The Swiss and German immigrants found the rolling hills similar to the topography of their homeland. Due to the climate, fertile soil and immigrants accustomed to wine with their meals, several wineries were established in the River Valley. The German community thrived with coal mining and railroad work driving the local economy. The Central Collegiate Institute was established in Altus in 1876 (now known as Hendrix College in Conway) and Hiram and Lydia College in 1890 (which went defunct in 1906). However, the railroad's prominence declined during the Great Depression, shrinking Altus's economy and population. Today, the Altus Area Coal Miner's Memorial is a series of five sculptures paying homage to area coal miners, with the names of over 2,500 local miners engraved at the site. Greenwood also has a Coal Miner's Memorial near the town square, with a restored coal railroad car and names of Sebastian County coal workers engraved on site.

Elsewhere in the county, cotton and timber had given way to strawberry, hay, and cattle. However, competition introduced into the market by the railroads allowed farmers in Texas and other states to undercut the prices offered by River Valley farmers. An exploration period for a new regional crop tested beans, legumes, and tomatoes before settling on mustard greens and spinach. The spinach and greens products allowed Alma to leverage its existing fruit canning facility owned by the Alma Canning and Evaporating Company, which had been in the area since 1888. In 1987, Alma claimed the title of "Spinach Capital of the World" and erected a Popeye

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