Arkansas Trivia & Tidbits - Page 12

Looking for Arkansas trivia? Try our list Arkansas little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The Rainbow Arch Bridge in Cotter (pop. 921), a town only seven blocks wide, was dedicated in 1930. The bridge serves as a famous, scenic entry point into town.

first appeared: 12/15/2002

Romance, a small community in White County, was named by schoolteacher J.J. Walters in 1884. Valentine’s Day is very big there.

first appeared: 12/8/2002

Hulsey Bend, a one-room schoolhouse near Oil Trough (pop. 218), is now a private museum. The school has been part of the Freeze Family Farm since opening in 1900.

first appeared: 12/1/2002

John Bowie, brother of Jim Bowie of Alamo fame, is believed to be buried in Desha County. He requested in 1853 that his grave remain unmarked.

first appeared: 11/24/2002

Petit Jean State Park in Morrilton (pop. 6,550) is Arkansas’ first state park, established in 1923.

first appeared: 11/17/2002

Arkansas’ first state flag was adopted in 1913. Miss Willie Hocker of Jefferson County submitted the design, changed slightly in 1923 and 1924.

first appeared: 11/10/2002

James P. Eagle, governor from 1889 to 1893, also was a minister who often rode his circuit on a mule named Gospel.

first appeared: 11/3/2002

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Arkansas was 29 degrees below zero at Gravette (pop. 1,810) in 1905.

first appeared: 10/27/2002

Author and historian Dee Brown attended college in Conway. His best seller, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, is available in more than 20 languages.

first appeared: 10/20/2002

No weeds grew under Donny Cole’s feet when he steered his tiller “Wild Thang” 200 feet in 6.34 seconds (that’s 21.5 mph) to win the 2002 World Championship Rotary Tiller Race in Emerson (pop. 359).

first appeared: 10/13/2002

Designed to climb like a tractor but drive smoothly on the road, the first Climber automobile was built in 1919 by Climber Motor Company in Little Rock. Only 275 cars rolled out before rocky finances closed the plant in 1923.

first appeared: 10/6/2002

The Lum & Abner Museum and Jot ’Em Down Store in Pine Ridge preserves the memory of the popular radio program, Lum & Abner, created by locals Chester Lauck and Norris Goff. The national program ran for nearly 25 years and received 1.5 million pieces of fan mail in one week. Characters were based on residents and the goings-on at the general store.

first appeared: 9/29/2002

In 1926, Benjamin Fooks of Camden (pop. 13,154) sold his service station, bought a small bottling plant, and began experimenting with flavored soda pop. He found sweet success with Grapette, flavored with real grape juice. By 1950, 600 Grapette bottling plants operated in 38 states.

first appeared: 9/22/2002

Fried dill pickles, sliced lengthwise and dipped in a secret batter, were invented in 1960 by Bob Austin, owner of the Duchess Drive-In in Atkins (pop. 2,878).

first appeared: 9/15/2002

Some 150 chuck wagons, pulled by horse or mule, compete at the National Chuckwagon Races near Clinton (pop. 2,283) each Labor Day.

first appeared: 9/8/2002

Dr. Floyd Brown, a graduate of the Tuskegee Institute, started Fargo Agricultural School near Brinkley (pop. 3,940) in 1919 with $2.85 and 15 students. By 1940 it had 200 students and 14 buildings. The school was donated to Arkansas in 1949 and now serves as a museum dedicated to Brown’s legacy.

first appeared: 9/1/2002

The eastern Arkansas Delta has several 800-year-old Cypress trees, but the largest in the state is found near Malvern (pop. 9,021), southwest of Little Rock. Its girth measures 38 feet.

first appeared: 8/25/2002

Gilbert “Broncho Billy” Anderson was born in Little Rock in 1882. He starred in the first western movie, The Great Train Robbery—filmed in 1903 in two days—and several other cowboy movies.

first appeared: 8/18/2002

The only World War I sopwith camel aircraft remaining in the country is housed at the Aerospace Education Center in Little Rock. More than 5,000 sopwith camels, popular with pilots for their agility, were manufactured.

first appeared: 8/11/2002

The towns of De Queen and Mena were named for married couple Jan and Mena DeGoeijen, who came to Arkansas from Holland. He was an important railroad official, and De Queen (pop. 5,765) was an attempt at translating DeGoeijen. Mena (pop. 5,637), further north, was named to honor his wife.

first appeared: 8/4/2002

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