💎Arkansas

The Natural State

Arkansas straddles the Mississippi River Delta and the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, giving it some of the most varied landscape in the American South. It is the only state where the name is pronounced differently than it is spelled — the final "s" is silent — a distinction written into state law in 1881.

From Louisiana Purchase to Statehood

Arkansas was part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Originally called "Arkansaw" in early documents, the region was organized as Arkansas Territory in 1819 and admitted as the 25th state in 1836 — a slave state, paired with Michigan's admission as a free state the following year to preserve the Missouri Compromise balance. It seceded with the Confederacy in 1861 and was the site of the Battle of Pea Ridge, one of the largest Civil War engagements west of the Mississippi.

Little Rock Central High

In September 1957, Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to block nine Black students — the Little Rock Nine — from integrating Central High School. President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students into the school. It was the first time since Reconstruction that federal troops had been deployed to enforce civil rights.

Walmart and Bill Clinton

Two of the state's most famous exports come from its northwest: Walmart, founded by Sam Walton in Bentonville in 1962 and now the largest company in the world by revenue; and Bill Clinton, born in Hope in 1946. Clinton served as Arkansas attorney general and governor before his election as the 42nd president in 1992.

Diamonds and Hot Springs

Arkansas is the only U.S. state with a working diamond mine open to the public — Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, where visitors keep any gems they find. Hot Springs National Park, in the Ouachita Mountains, was federally protected as a reservation in 1832, making it the oldest area in the national park system by 40 years, though it wasn't officially designated a national park until 1921.

Arkansas Facts

• Arkansas is the only U.S. state name whose pronunciation differs from its spelling — by law.
• The Ozark Mountains are actually a high plateau rather than a true mountain range.
• Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, in 1932 and grew up in the farming community of Dyess.
• The state produces nearly half of America's rice.
• Tyson Foods, headquartered in Springdale, is the largest meat producer in the United States.

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