Revisionist History of Pope County, but the Good Kind

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The Background

The year 2024 was a bit of a doozy for me. I got divorced, moved from my dream house to my rent house, and my weird, stinky, wonderful dog Ampersand went to Rainbow Bridge University. Needless to say, it was hard to get out of bed, much less function as a typical human being needs to function on a daily basis. Why am I telling you this? To help you understand the mindset of the person who found inspiration when they had almost forgotten what it felt like.

When I moved houses it was too painful (mentally and physically) to unpack everything into the new space after just packing it up. There was too many memories, too much stuff to go through. So, for months boxes sat unopened and the contents became a distant memory to me. In July of 2025, nearly a year to the day my divorce became official, I found the energy to start the process of unpacking my old life in order to move forward with my new one. A much lighter existence, judging by how many boxes I ended up donating. By August I was nearly done going through the mountain of boxes when I found a book that I didn't recall seeing before.

The Inspiration

Photo of the Early History of Pope County, by David L. Vance of Russellville, AR.

Early History of Pope County, the words stared at me from the cover. The name and look of the book intrigued me. It has a distinctly library book feel to it, but I still had no idea where it had come from. I flipped through the pages and found some information on who, when, and why it was written. A local man by the name of David L. Vance had put this together in 1970. Which coincidentally was the Centennial of both Russellville and Dover, so Vance's work was a gift of celebration, an offering, to the people of Pope County. It was printed by Foreman-Payne Publishers of Mablevale, Arkansas. This book was meant to capture the "history of Pope County in the nineteenth century and in the early part of the twentieth century". According to Vance, it was his hope to "give you the basic idea of what the earlier periods were like so that maybe you, as a reader, will want to search out more details on the topics that may interest you." Well, mission accomplished. I'm interested in the whole dang book.

The Point

Now, back to why I'm telling you all of this. As I stated previously, I found inspiration at a time I desperately needed it. This book - this Early History of Pope County - gave me that jolt of inspiration. "This book is over 50 years old. We've learned more about Pope County, our State, and who these historical figures were since it was compiled. Maybe an update would be nice to have." Insert quizzical emoji face. As soon as I read the first sentence, I knew there was something there. Because, it was painfully obvious the book was dated. A fresh perspective, and updated language, could really open the history of Pope County up to new (and old) curious minds. That was all I needed to get going on revising it, if only for a blog online.

I am not a researcher, I am not even a writer, per say, but I am going to do my best to capture the updates of our history as accurately as possible while maybe making some fun observations along the way.

If this has piqued your interest, I'd love for you to come along with me as we explore how the history of where we live connects to the moments we love today. I don't know how often I'll be posting as this is being added into my current life of full-time work and taking care of my 3-legged dog (okay, it doesn't take much to care for Finn, but he insisted I let everyone know he exists and is my main priority). But I promise it will be as often as I'm able to get to it.

The Plan

The format of this revision will be to include a link to the original text then post my updated "revised" version on the blog. This is so you can compare any updates or changes I made without having to read the original text if you don't want to. For example: The very first chapter is titled The Indians. Since we know that they were referred to that because ole' Chris Columbus mistakenly though he had reached the East Indies when he had, in fact, landed in the Caribbean, I will be updating the terminology to Native Americans (or in some instances Indigenous Peoples). A small example, but it will give you an idea of what's to come.

I won't leave you with just that example, though. I will also include the first section of the book as well as the revision so you can see what's ahead.

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Original

Chapter 1: Indians

The Osage Indians were the first inhabitants of Pope County of which we have any definite record. They were one of the Dakota Tribes that moved westward from the Ohio and Wabash valleys some time before 1500. They were related to the Quapaws and had migrated with them as far as the Mississippi River. From here the Quapaws went south, while the Osage stayed in the northern part of Arkansas.

The Osage were a reckless and warlike tribe. Their raiding parties robbed and murdered white hunters, burned the villages of the other Indians, then made their way back into the mountains of central Missouri for refuge.

There were 2,300 Osage Indians living in Arkansas in 1802. Their men were brave, strong, and daring hunters and fighters. Many of their warriors were six feet tall. They were great buffalo hunters, and could walk or run sixty miles a day.

Pope County had been given to the Osage Indians until a treaty with the Osage was negotiated by General William Clark in 1808. This treaty gave the United States the territory east of a line drawn from Fort Clark at Fire Prairie, on the Missouri River (near Kansas City), south to the Arkansas River at the mouth of Frog Bayou, on the Arkansas River (near Alma, Arkansas).

Revised

Chapter 1: Native Americans

The Osage were formidable hunters, warriors, and travelers. Contemporary reports (mostly from some nervous settlers) described them as tall, strong, and capable of covering sixty miles in a day - basically the Ironman athletes of early Arkansas. In 1802, there were about 2,300 Osage living in Arkansas. Many stood over six feet tall, which in the early 19th century meant they could definitely dunk. If they had hoops.

Pope County originally belonged to the Osage until the United States negotiated a treaty in 1808 (aka: The U.S. government wrote down what they wanted, handed it over, and the Osage ended up losing millions of acres. Involuntarily). General William Clark - yes, that Clark, of Lewis-and-Clark fame - drew a line on a map that ran from Fire Prairie Missouri (near present-day Kansas City), all the way south to Frog Bayou on the Arkansas River. That treaty gave the U.S. legal claim to the land the Osage had been living on for centuries. The OG gentrification?