The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

"Your Message in Front of Everybody" Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The Main Street Bridge Location:

The entire booklet with photographs can be found in MSS 08-06, the Worthen Bank Records, Series IV, Box 1, File 6. This series first appeared on the blog in April 2009.

“Your Message in Front of Everybody”

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

This Baird, Inc. (formally John P. Baird) “Little Rock-North Little Rock Rotary Bulletin Plan” booklet shows us a little bit about the technical side of billboard advertising in the early 1960s. The Rotary Plan proposed the movement of a business’s advertisement to a new billboard location every sixty days in an effort to increase its exposure.

In these documents, you can see a description of the plan and a map with three billboard locations marked.

In the next couple of weeks the blog with feature entries on the three billboards shown on the above map. Each entry will include photographs of the billboard location and an information sheet showing description, size, circulation numbers, etc.

Coming up:
Main Street Bridge (North Little Rock side)
Asher Avenue and Roosevelt Road (Little Rock)
3rd and Marshall Streets (Little Rock)

Stay tuned!

The entire booklet with photographs can be found in MSS 08-06, the Worthen Bank Records, Series IV, Box 1, File 6. This series first appeared on the blog in April 2009.

New entries on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Check out what's new on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:
Clarendon Expedition (October 16–17, 1864)
Clarendon, Skirmish at (June 26, 1864)
Horseshoe Bend (Izard County)
Springdale College
Thornton (Calhoun County)
Welcome Centers
West Memphis Three

Event Reminder: 2nd Friday Art Night

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Friday, February 10, 5 to 8 p.m.
Main Gallery, Butler Center Galleries
401 President Clinton Ave.

An exhibition from the Studio Art Quilt Associates will open in the Butler Center's Main Gallery during 2nd Friday Art Night.

On the second Friday of each month, the Butler Center Galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night, when galleries, museums, and businesses in downtown Little Rock are open from 5 to 8 p.m. for an after-hours gallery walk.

New entries on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Check out what's new on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:

Boone-Murphy-Moore House
Breweries
Buck Horn, Skirmish at
Bull Bayou, Skirmish at
Civil War Recruitment
Conscription (Civil War)
Hall, B. C.
Hermitage (Bradley County)
Springfield (Conway County)
Sugar Creek, Action at

Event Reminder: Legacies and Lunch, February 1

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 12 to 1 p.m.
Darragh Center, Main Library
Dr. Jeannie Whayne will discuss her latest book, Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South.

Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Clinton School of Public Service. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (501) 320-5717.

New entries on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Check out what's new on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:
Arkansas “Scottsboro” Case
Cultured Pearl Industry
Mid-Southern Watercolorists
Mount Pleasant (Izard County)
National Grange of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry
NorthEast Arkansas Regional Archives (NEARA)

New entries on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Check out what's new on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:
Bentonville College
Cotton Plant Academy
Monticello Academy
Robinson, Tommy Franklin
Tyson, Don

From the photograph collection:

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Governor Sid McMath boarding an airplane, December 1949.

7 1/2 x 9 1/2, black and white
PHO 9-705

Read more about Governor McMath at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

New entries on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Check out what's new on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:

Camden, Skirmish at (April 15, 1864)
Little River, Skirmish at
Newth, Rebecca
Official Days (a.k.a. State Holidays and Commemorative Days)
Opera in the Ozarks
Rice Bowl
Warren, Joyce Elise Williams
Young Women’s Christian Association

Holiday Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, all branches of the Arkansas Studies Institute will be closed Monday, January 16. Regular hours will resume Tuesday, January 17.

Event Reminder: 2nd Friday Art Night

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Friday, January 13, 2012, 5 to 8 p.m.
Concordia Hall, Butler Center Galleries
401 President Clinton Ave.

Women to Watch – The Butler Center will host the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) Women to Watch series. The exhibition includes the work of artists who were selected for consideration for the NMWA's Body of Work exhibit as part of its biennial Women to Watch series. This series features emerging or under-represented artists from the states and countries in which the museum has outreach committees.

On the second Friday of each month, the Butler Center Galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night, when galleries, museums, and businesses in downtown Little Rock are open from 5 to 8 p.m. for an after-hours gallery walk.

Featured Manuscript Collection: January/February

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Jared C. Martin Family Papers
MSS 05-01
Finding Aid
The Jared C. Martin Family Papers documents life in antebellum Arkansas through the personal correspondence of an early Arkansas settler and his family. Correspondence in the collection is dated from 1824 to 1882, with the largest concentration of letters written in the 1830s-1850s.

[Click to enlarge]
Letter: James H. Martin (opposite Little Rock, Arkansas Territory) to Eli J. Lewis (Post of Arkansas), January 17, 1826.
Martin writes about money owed to Lewis and how to collect payment. James Hutcheson Martin operated a ferry with his brothers in Little Rock on the Arkansas River. He died in 1826.
Jared Carswell Martin, the son of Irish immigrants John and Elizabeth Allen Martin, was born October 11, 1806, in the Cherokee Indian Nation, Georgia. He spent the majority of his childhood in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, before relocating to Little Rock, Arkansas Territory, around 1821. Jared operated a ferry on the Arkansas River with his brother, James Hutcherson Martin, and spent two years carrying mail between Little Rock and the Arkansas Post. Jared served as Pulaski County treasurer from 1840-1842, as a Pulaski County representative in the Arkansas legislature from 1842-1844, and as state treasurer from 1843-1845. Jared married Mary “Polly” Douglas on January 25, 1827, and the couple had eleven children. The Martin family settled in Fourche Bayou near Little Rock and set up a farm. Jared Carswell Martin died November 7, 1857.
[Click to enlarge]
Letter: Amos Byrd (Lawrence County, Arkansas Territory) to Jared C. Martin (Little Rock, Arkansas Territory), June 29, 1834.
Most of the personal correspondence in the collection deals with health, family relations, finances, and the state of the crops. Additionally, Jared C. Martin was a religious man and a few of the letters deal with his involvement with the church. Notably, two letters are from James Wilson Moore (1797-1873), the father of Presbyterian Church in Arkansas.
[Click to enlarge]
Letter: James H. Martin (Jackson, Missouri) to his uncle, Jared C. Martin (Little Rock, Ark.), January 12, 1840.
Many of the letters talk about local and state politics, as various members of the Martin family were involved in state-level Democratic politics. One letter of note is a piece of constituent correspondence regarding traveling ministers addressed to Jared C. Martin, John W. Cocke, and P. T. Crutchfield, Pulaski County Representatives in the Arkansas House from 1842-1844. In addition to Jared C. Martin’s political activities, his brother John Martin III served in the Missouri legislature from 1829-1836 and as postmaster of Batesville, Arkansas, from 1848-1862, and his brother Allen Martin served as Pulaski County surveyor from 1825-1830, as a member of the Arkansas Territorial Legislative Council from 1831-1833, and as Pulaski County sheriff from 1836-1838.

Several documents from the collection are being digitized and will be available online.

[Click to enlarge]
Notice: M. Hill to Jared C. Martin (Little Rock, Ark.), July 20, 1840.
[Click to enlarge]
Certificate: commissioning Jared C. Martin Treasurer of the State of Arkansas, 1845.

New entries on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Check out what's new on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:
Altheimer (Jefferson County)
Austin (Lonoke County)
Batesville, Skirmish at (February 4, 1863)
Bond, Ulysses Scott
Cane Hill, Skirmish at (November 25, 1862)
Horatio (Sevier County)
Human Development Centers
Kingsland (Cleveland County)
Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad
Mountain Home, Skirmish at
Robertson, Thomas Arthur
St. Francis County Museum
Wolf, Jacob

Event Reminder: Legacies and Lunch, January 4

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 12 to 1 p.m.
Darragh Center, Main Library
Ark in the Dark – Join Ron Robinson at Legacies & Lunch as he discusses Ark in the Dark: An Exhibition of Vintage Movie Posters about Arkansas. The 35 movie posters on display for Ark in the Dark, on view in the Butler Center's Concordia Hall through February 25, are from Robinson's personal collection.

Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Clinton School of Public Service. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (501) 320-5717.

Holiday Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

The Arkansas Studies Institute will be closed Monday, January 2 for New Years.

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, January 3.

Solomon Munger and the Civil War

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Solomon V. Munger, ca. 1862
When the Civil War began, Solomon V. Munger, a thirty-eight year old farmer living in Barry County, Michigan, enlisted at Battle Creek in 1862. Due to recruitment and organizational difficulties, two companies of Michigan men (including Munger), sought service in a Missouri regiment. These two companies became companies "H" and "I" of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry. In the summer of 1863, the unit moved into Arkansas, where it participated in the Little Rock Campaign and later the Camden Expedition. In February 1864, Solomon's son, Hiram, enlisted in the Union Army against his father's wishes. Hiram volunteered for service in the 2nd Missouri Cavalry and soon joined his father in Arkansas.

The pair wrote many letters home and several of these letters can be found in MSS 03-23 Munger Family Civil War Letters.

Holiday Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

The Arkansas Studies Institute will be closed Friday, December 23 through Monday, December 26 in observance of the Christmas holiday.

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, December 27.

From the photograph collection:

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Knights Templars, Lonoke, Ark., ca. 1915.

6 1/4 x 6 1/4, sepia
Donated by Jeanne McDaniel
PHO 9-574

Event Reminder: 2nd Friday Art Night

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Friday, December 9, 2011, 5 to 8 p.m.
Butler Center Galleries
Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.

Ark in the Dark: An Exhibition of Vintage Movie Posters about Arkansas – The Butler Center and Ron Robinson are co-hosting an exhibition of vintage Arkansas-related movie posters to be shown in Concordia Hall of the Arkansas Studies Institute. The show features 35 posters from films covering the years 1926 to 2009. The exhibition opens on December’s 2nd Friday Art Night and runs through February 25, 2012.

On the second Friday of each month, the Butler Center Galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night, when galleries, museums, and businesses in downtown Little Rock are open from 5 to 8 p.m. for an after-hours gallery walk.

Event Reminder: Legacies and Lunch, December 7

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 12 to 1 p.m.
Darragh Center, Main Library
A History of Ouachita Baptist University – Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is an independent, residential institution in the liberal arts tradition associated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Founded on April 8, 1886, it capped a longstanding interest among Arkansas Baptists in making higher learning more readily available to more people, providing an educated ministry and educated lay leadership, strengthening denominational loyalty, and extending denominational influence. This year, the school celebrates its 125th anniversary. Join Trennis Henderson as he discusses the anniversary theme, “Ouachita Baptist University: Making a Difference since 1886.”

Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (501) 320-5717.

New collections available

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Looking for something to do on this rainy day? We would love to have you come down to the Butler Center to check out some of our recently processed collections.

Can't get away? Follow the links below to the finding aids for a few of the new collections.

MSS 04-30 Arkansas Ku Klux Klan Materials
This collection contains materials related to the Ku Klux Klan in Arkansas and across the South.

MSS 05-02 Metz Family Papers
This collection contains the personal records from two family generations in Desoto, Missouri and Baring Cross (North Little Rock), Arkansas.

MSS 07-25 Governor Mike Beebe Inauguration Materials
This collection contains two large binders of materials related to the 2007 and 2011 inaugurations of Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe.

MSS 07-48 3rd Missouri Calvary Photograph Collection
This collection consists of two photographs in a case and a photograph album containing images of members of the 3rd Missouri Cavalry (US), especially from Company I.

MSS 09-39 Johnson Family Materials
This collection contains documents and correspondence from the Johnson Family, long-time residents of Little Rock and descendants of the founding families of Little Rock.

MSS 09-44 Arkansas United Methodist Materials
This collection contains journals and other materials related to the Little Rock, North Arkansas, and Arkansas Conferences of the United Methodist Church.

MSS 10-02 Citizens’ Military Training Camp Photograph Album
This collection contains a small album with photographs of the Citizens' Military Training Camp at Camp Pike, Arkansas, in August 1921.

MSS 10-30 J. H. Cottrell Jr. Collection
This collection contains materials related to the political career of J. H. Cottrell Jr., Arkansas House of Representatives.

MSS 11-65 Rufus K. Young Papers
The collection includes family documents, correspondence, photographs, school and church related materials including sermons, programs, and ministerial association minutes.

Holiday Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

The Arkansas Studies Institute will be closed Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Regular hours of operation will resume Saturday, November 26.

Archival Haiku 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

From the Society of American Archivists:

SAA members exhibited their poetic skills by putting their thoughts into haiku—a Japanese poetry form using five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. More than 125 haiku written by archivists about the profession are captured in a clever collection.

Congratulations to the WINNERS...

Seven cubic feet
Enticing, what mysteries!
Wooden cart awaits...
by Kate Mollan

Marg’ret, don’t be cross:
archives now proliferate
ike lakeside bunnies
by Ann Heinrichs

Hey, handsome stranger
Saw your pic in the archives
Too bad you’re dead now
by Rebecca Goldman

Visit the Society of American Archivits website to read more.

Celebrate Archives!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie Bayless) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

October is American Archives Month, a time to grow appreciation for historical documents, archivists, and archives.

Do you visit an archive regularly? Has a staff member helped you out in a particularly special way? Let them know you appreciate what they do; you will make their day.