Often thought of as a primitive backwoods peopled by rough hunters and unsavory characters, early Arkansas was actually quite productive and dynamic. Bolton describes migration, agricultural growth, religion, the roles of women, slavery, the dispossesion of the Cherokees and Quapaws, and many other facets of Arkansas's development.

Winner of the Missouri History Book Award, from the State Historical Society of Missouri Winner of the Arkansiana Award, from the Arkansas Library Association Geologic forces raised the Ozarks. Myth enshrouds these hills. Human beings shaped them and were shaped by them. The Ozarks reflect the epic tableau of the American people—the native Osage and would-be colonial conquerors, the determined settlers and on-the-make speculators, the endless labors of hardscrabble farmers and capitalism of visionary entrepreneurs. The Old Ozarks is the first volume of a monumental three-part history of the region and its inhabitants. Brooks Blevins begins in deep prehistory, charting how these highlands of granite, dolomite, and limestone came to exist. From there he turns to the political and economic motivations behind the eagerness of many peoples to possess the Ozarks. Blevins places these early proto-Ozarkers within the context of larger American history and the economic, social, and political forces that drove it forward. But he also tells the varied and colorful human stories that fill the region's storied past—and contribute to the powerful myths and misunderstandings that even today distort our views of the Ozarks' places and people. A sweeping history in the grand tradition, A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks is essential reading for anyone who cares about the highland heart of America.

"This is a work of historical archaeology in the American South focusing on religious institutions-two churches and a college-as they existed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Recently, historical archaeologists are considering more work on churches, churchyards, and cemeteries. Traditionally, the dearth of artifacts was a primary deterrent. Kimberly Pyszka notes that archaeologists have an increasing awareness of how these sites contribute to questions of identity, consumerism, trade, and colonialism, especially when using a landscape archaeology lens. Pyszka aims to demonstrate that select religious institutions used and modified natural landscape features to express their ideology, identity, goals, and social, religious, and political power. Where those structures were constructed, how they sat on the landscape, their architectural style, and their overall visual appearance were well-considered decisions made by religious leaders to benefit their organizations, communities, and, sometimes, themselves. A secondary goal is to show the social roles that religious organizations played in the development of communities. Pyszka connects back to those landscape decisions, specifically to how the architectural design of religious structures was used, intentionally or not, to unite people, often those of differing religious backgrounds. This contributed to the creation of a new common identity among people living in new and still-growing settlements, aiding in community development. She also wants readers to reflect on today's religious landscapes and the ways they are still used to express religious, social, and political ideology and identity"--

In the first comprehensive social history of the Arkansas Ozarks from the early 19th century through the end of the 20th century, Blevins examines settlement patterns, farming, economics, class, and tourism. He also explores the development of conflicting images of the Ozarks as a timeless arcadia peopled by quaint, homespun characters or a backward region filled with hillbillies.

Contributions by Ryan L. Fletcher, Darren E. Grem, Paul Harvey, Alicia Jackson, Ted Ownby, Otis W. Pickett, Arthur Remillard, Chad Seales, and Randall J. Stephens Over more than three decades of teaching at the University of Mississippi, Charles Reagan Wilson’s research and writing transformed southern studies in key ways. This volume pays tribute to and extends Wilson’s seminal work on southern religion and culture. Using certain episodes and moments in southern religious history, the essays examine the place and power of religion in southern communities and society. It emulates Wilson’s model, featuring both majority and minority voices from archives and applying a variety of methods to explain the South’s religious diversity and how religion mattered in many arenas of private and public life, often with life-or-death stakes. The volume first concentrates on churches and ministers, and then considers religious and cultural constructions outside formal religious bodies and institutions. It examines the faiths expressed via the region’s fields, streets, homes, public squares, recreational venues, roadsides, and stages. In doing so, this book shows that Wilson’s groundbreaking work on religion is an essential part of southern studies and crucial for fostering deeper understanding of the South’s complicated history and culture.

"List of charter members," v. 1, p. 8.