From the Director:An old friend of mine is fond of saying
something to the effect of, “in real life, you don’t get do-overs.”
Too often, this is all too true: there’s no way to remake a bad first impression, fix those pesky typos on a letter that has just been sent, un-spill a bottle of India ink (don’t ask), or stretch out a board that’s been trimmed too short. There are fixes, to be sure, but few opportunities to really wipe the slate clean, to do something right as if one hadn’t done it wrong in the first place.
But sometimes, when one least expects it, the opportunity for a true do-over pops up. And it’s only the foolish who pass up such gifts. And here at the Archives, we try to avoid foolishness.
Celebrating Arkansas's Spooky Folklore
Arkansas has it's own legends and spooky folklore that have been passed down for generations. In this blog post, we explore some of those legends.
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Researching Adoption Information
Working in the research room at the Arkansas State Archives brings our staff an assortment of genealogy challenges, but the one that often is the most difficult is that of adoption.
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"Lost Census" of 1890
In almost any field of scholarly endeavor, there sems to be something that remains tantalizingly out of reach. For genealogists, it's the "lost census" of 1890.
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The Black History Commission of Arkansas recently awarded Curtis H. Sykes grants to four projects around Arkansas.
The next meeting of the BHCA will be at noon, Thursday, Nov. 17 on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. The meeting will also be available via Zoom
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Historical Monuments Protection Act
The Historical Monuments Protection Act is an act adopted in 2021 that states "A historical monument shall not be relocated, vandalized, damaged, destroyed, removed, altered, renamed, rededicated, or otherwise disturbed.” However, it also recognizes that occasions may arise when a historical monument must be moved or otherwise altered, either temporarily or permanently.
In such instances, waivers to the protection by the Act may be requested by state, county or local governmental entities that own such monuments and on whose public properties these monuments are located.
The Arkansas History Commission is tasked with reviewing such waivers at their quarterly meetings.
To submit a waiver, click the link below. It must be submitted two weeks before the next commission meeting. The next deadline is Thursday, Dec. 1.
SUBMIT A WAIVER
NEARA 2023 Award: $1,000 Cash & Certificate for
Best Unpublished Paper
The Arkansas Historical Association and the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives (NEARA), a branch of the Arkansas State Archives, are happy to make the annual call for the NEARA Award paper submissions.
The Award is given for best original and unpublished research paper using any archival materials from NEARA, particularly from the Lawrence County Territorial Papers (1815-1836).
The winner will be announced at the 2023 AHA’s Annual Conference Awards Banquet. Entries must reference at least one primary resource housed in NEARA. The deadline for submitting papers is February 1, 2023.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
The Arkansas State Archives has been working with the Library of Congress over the past five years to digitize historic newspapers across Arkansas, and they are available for FREE on Chronicling America!
We're sharing an informational flyer and poster about the National Digital Newspaper Program in hopes you pass this along to your patrons, students and teachers as a resource for research projects.
More information, including digital copies of the poster and flyer, are available on our website.
If you're interested in receiving the Arkansas State Archives newsletter, send an email to Lindsey Tugman, public information officer, at [email protected] and you'll be added to the subscription list.