Plummerville, 1914: "Have arrived here all OK," this postcard reported back to Illinois. It s likely the sender stayed at the Clover Leaf Hotel, the largest and likely only hotel in the Conway County town. The rambling white frame building has been gone for decades.
Pine Bluff, 1908: "You may see by this that there are some sports here anyway." The local Automobile Club had lined up their vehicles at the end of Main Street before the 1856 Jefferson County courthouse. The courthouse was rebuilt after a fire in 1976. The former bank building to the left still stands.
Somewhere USA, circa 1910: It s a mystery where this postcard s pictured wagon was, full of children. It was, however, marked as "Bound for the Cotton Fields of Arkansaw." There would have been plenty of cotton fields, from large to very small, as some cotton was produced in almost every Arkansas county at the time.
Fayetteville, 1950: Today the university town has a population of more than 90,000, with many of the chain motels and hotels found coast to coast. In 1950, however, with a population of 17,000, lodging in the city was mostly along U.S. 71 and was "mom and pop" style like the pictured Maple Court with "Ezirest Beds, Radios and Fans."
Brinkley, 1909: For well over a century, the Arkansas National Guard has turned out to help those hit by tornadoes, floods and other challenges. In 1909, one of the worst tornadoes in state history swept down on Brinkley, killing more than 50 people. Gov. George Donaghey sent the Guard, which erected tents in the street among the ruins to provide shelter for some who lost their homes.