On June 15, 1836, Arkansas became one of the
United States. Native Americans first inhabited the state and created a thriving culture along the Mississippi River around 500 A.D. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, both the Spanish and the French explored the region. The United States acquired the land from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Arkansas flies a red flag with a blue border and a white lozenge. The lozenge includes the state's name and three stars which represent the three countries that have ruled the state: Spain, France, and the United States. Above the name, another blue star symbolizes the state's role in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Twenty-five stars in the flag's border indicate Arkansas's position as the twenty-fifth state to have entered the Union.
- Search on Arkansas in the Cities and Towns section of Map Collections (1500-Present). Use the zoom feature to see factories, horse drawn carts, railroads, and much more in remarkable detail.
- Search on Arkansas in California Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties, 1938-1940 to find tunes related to the state.
- Treat yourself to performances of "Arkansas Traveler," the music portion of a comedic sketch, a battle of wits between a wise-cracking, fiddle-playing hillbilly and a sophisticated city-slicker. One version features John Selleck on the fiddle, and another showcases Mrs. Ben Scott and Myrtle B. Wilkinson on the fiddle and the tenor banjo. A third version, a 1922 Edison recording which includes dialogue, is available in the American Variety Stage Audio Sampler.
- Search on Arkansas in the following collections for documents, manuscripts, and reports pertaining to the state:
