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• HOME • GENERAL STORE • NATURAL HERITAGE • HISTORY, CULTURE & CRAFTSMANSHIP |
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History, Culture & Craftsmanship
• History |
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| History Index • Into The Hills • Upper South • Native America • The Irish • The Germans • Civil War • Baldknobbers • Railroads • Ozark Bridges • Ozark Mills • Historic Roads • Cemeteries Culture Index • Agriculture • Book Learning • Cooking • Craftsmanship • Faith in the Hills • History • Music • People of the Hills • Storytelling • Tourism |
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The Ozarks have always been a crossroads.
These hills were the home of the Caddo and the Osage.
The Ozarks became a place of legend when Spanish conquistedors came to the hills. Stories of buried silver mines, lost loves, and secret caves hidden in the pines and oak came and passed into history.
As the Great American West opened up to settlers, the Ozarks again became a crossroads. The Old Wilderness Road became the “Wire Road” (as the new-fangled telegraph was strung between Missouri and Arkansas).
The Butterfield Stage began making regular stops.
These hills, with a geography stretched from amonth the piney woods of Texas, the great plains of Kansas, and the Midwestern industry of St. Louis, were a crossroads of Western expansion.
The War Between the States brought suffering, deprivation, destruction.
It brought death.
After the war, the Ozarks were a no-man’s land where bushwhackers — and later baldknobbers — routinely murdered those in their way.
The hills were no longer a crossroads, but a place of danger and desolation.
Law and safety slowly returned to the Ozarks, brought about in part by the influence of preachers and the establishment of churches. In time, the Ozarks became known as a place of craftsmanship, music, and old-fashioned values.
But don’t forget. Don't forget there is a rich, and sometimes very bloody history, right under your nose.
Don’t forget the Ozarks are a crossroads of legend and history. Don't forget there’s backbone, grit and faith here to sustain through good times and bad. And don’t forget the talent, the patience and the faith that made these hills a place worth visiting today.
A family-friendly Las Vegas? A Midwestern vacation destination?
Hardly. Don’t insult the heart and soul of what made these hills. And don’t lose the very thing that draws others to them.
— Joshua Heston, editor
November 3, 2008
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“In memory of that beautiful summer in the Ozark Hills, when, so often, we followed the old trail around the rim of Mutton Hollow — the trail that is nobody knows how old — and from Sammy's Lookout watched the day go over the western ridges.” — Harold Bell Wright, 1907
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Missouri stood with back to the Mississippi and face to the plains — the Missouri River formed a highway to the Rocky Mountains and beyond. By mid-nineteenth century, American enterprise stood prepared to leap across the prairies with Missouri as base of operations and gateway for the conquest of the West.
— excerpted from the Missouri State Museum, Jefferson City, Missouri.
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NEWS FROM SHILOH MUSEUM...
Ozark Quilt Fair
Entries are still being accepted for the 33rd Ozark Quilt Fair, Saturday, September 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. Quilters and quilt lovers are invited to display new and antique quilts for show and sale on the museum grounds. Cost is $10 for exhibitors, which includes a sack lunch. Cash prize Viewer’s Choice awards will be given for first ($50), second ($25), and third ($15) place winners in both new and antique quilt categories. Deadline for entries is September 6.
The Ozark Quilt Fair is sponsored by First Security Bank, Arvest Bank, and Legacy National Bank.
Ozark Moths
Lori Spencer, author of Arkansas Butterflies and Moths, will present “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Moths in the Ozarks,” Saturday, August 7 at 2:00 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. The program is part of the museum’s Summer Saturday Series for families, and includes a make-and-take craft activity for kids.
Genealogy Jeopardy
The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History will host the Washington County Arkansas Genealogical Society’s “Genealogy Jeopardy” program, Sunday, August 8, at 2:00 p.m. at the museum. Teams from the Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society and the Washington County Arkansas Genealogical Society will be pitted against each other in a contest featuring local history and genealogy facts and trivia.
Diaries of a Madison County Farmer
“Been a Busy Day,” a program by Shiloh Museum outreach coordinator Susan Young, will be presented Wednesday, August 18 at noon at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. The program is based on diaries kept by Madison County farmer Milton Cooper from 1984 to early 1995. “Milton Cooper was 70 years old when he began keeping a diary,” said Young.
“He retired from Campbell Soup in Fayetteville in 1977, but he and his wife Daisy continued to lead a very active life on their farm at Cannon Creek. It’s a way of life that is common to many Ozark rural families, but is rarely chronicled. As I read the diaries, I was struck by how very busy the Coopers were, even well into their 80s—raising chickens, hunting, fishing, gardening, visiting neighbors, going to town for groceries, and welcoming family for weekend visits.” continued Young.
Grist Mill Photo Exhibit
Down by the Old Mill Stream, a photo exhibit featuring Northwest Arkansas grist mills, opens Tuesday, August 24 at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. “Grist mills played a big role in their communities,” said Marie Demeroukas, museum photo archivist. “They offered farmers a place to grind their corn and wheat, and a chance to gather together to exchange gossip or talk about the news of the day,” Demeroukas continued.
The exhibit will be on display through December 18.
MONTHLY MEETINGS
Writing Group
LifeWriters, a group for people interested in writing the stories of their own lives or those of family and friends, will meet Monday, August 2 and Monday, August 16 at 10:00 a.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
Railway Society
The Boston Mountain Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will meet Thursday, August 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
Photo Identification Group
The Shiloh Museum’s Photo Identification Group will meet Saturday, August 21 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the museum to continue identifying people, places, and events in Northwest Arkansas photos taken over the last 40 years.
Sacred Harp Singers
The Northwest Arkansas Sacred Harp Singers will meet Sunday, August 22 at 1:30 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
Civil War Roundtable
The Northwest Arkansas Civil War Roundtable will meet Thursday, August 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
Wireless Society
The Ozark Wireless Society will meet Saturday, August 28 at 10:00 a.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History is located at the corner of Johnson and Main in downtown Springdale.For more information, call 750-8165.
Visit (www) Springdale AR (.gov) / shiloh