All Around Arkansas: Oark General Store

            

            One of the many perks of being a teacher, besides working with some amazing kids, is spring break. 

            Spring break is a time to rest, relax — and maybe even take a trip to get away from the regular routine and “recharge the batteries." This year, my wife decided she’d travel to Mexico with some of the ladies she works with at her Benton law firm. As for me, I took a trip to northern Arkansas to see a few historic and scenic sites I had yet to experience in my 46 years of living in the natural state.

            The first stop on my spring break adventure took me off I-40 about 20 miles north of Clarksville (Johnson County) to the small community of Oark, which is home to what is believed to be the oldest continuously operating store in the state — the Oark General Store.

            F.M. Nelson moved to Oark and bought land in 1889, opening the general store the following year. The small business greatly contributed to the development of the isolated community, providing locals with luxury items and necessities that otherwise would have been unattainable. The general store also gave Oark a central meeting place and a market for local crop and timber products. The store also served for many years as the Oark post office.

            The Oark General Store has served food since its early days. But in later years, it began serving hot food such as hamburgers. More room was added to the store in the mid-1960s, but the general store did not become a full-scale restaurant until the early 1990s. With the increased tourism in the area thanks to the development of the Ozark National Forest and the rise in the popularity of camping and floating on the nearby Mulberry River, the general store became a popular place to stop for supplies, fuel and a quick lunch. Being the only business of its kind in the little community, Oark General Store and its café grew in popularity and became a must-see tourist destination. 

            The store has changed owners several times over its history, but it has never closed, making it the oldest continuously operating store in Arkansas. Brian and Reagan Eisele moved to the Oark area and purchased the store in May 2012. The couple had met in Washington, D.C.; Brian worked for South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, and Reagan worked for Arkansas’ senior U.S. Senator, John Boozman. On my recent trip to the old store, I met Brian and he couldn’t have been more hospitable and welcoming.

            Today, Oark General Store is mostly known for its mouth-watering menu, but a limited selection of supplies for adventurers can still be purchased. The restaurant is open every day of the week except Tuesday. But the store usually closes for a few days around the Christmas/New Year holidays and reopens in early January. Stickers adorn the windows and doors of the store from visitors from all over the nation and world—including one that features the name of this column and its companion blog.

            In March 1995, Oark General Store was added to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places. While the interior of the building retains its original floor and ceiling, the building was ruled ineligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to the many alterations that have taken place to the structure over its 133-year-old history.

            Yes, Oark General Store is off the beaten path a bit, but I’ve found in all my travels throughout Arkansas that those places are the best kind, and the old store is definitely one of them.

            A proud sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. Find him on Facebook and Instagram at AllAroundArkansas.

All Around Arkansas: The Shoppach House

                

                The Shoppach House stands just a few blocks from the Saline Courier in the historic district of Benton. Located at 508 N. Main St., it is the oldest brick structure in the county and has quite the history.

                John William Shoppach was born in Hessen, Germany, and came to America in 1834, where he eventually made his way to present-day Saline County in the newly-created state of Arkansas. In 1852, he and his wife, Sibby, whose family had come from Illinois to Arkansas in 1818, built a small home in Benton. The bricks used to build the home and a nearby well were made on site by Shoppach. The brick portion of the house was built in the dogtrot style, with two rooms on either side of a breezeway. Shortly after the family’s move to Benton, Shoppach got involved in local politics and was elected county clerk. He remained in that office until his death in 1861.

                During the Civil War, the small house was the home of James H. Shoppach, a private in the Confederate Army. In April 1861, the home’s front yard served as the site for the presentation of a battle flag to Saline County’s Company E of the First Arkansas Infantry of the Confederacy. The flag was made by women in the community and accompanied the forces to several battles including those at Murfreesboro and Chickamauga.

                In August 1863, after Union troops took control of central Arkansas, Union officers used the Shoppach House as their headquarters, while troops were stationed in a hastily built fort on what is now the southeast corner of Carpenter and Military Roads. The Shoppach House was later used to house Union forces under Lieutenant Henry C. Caldwell in November of that year.

                The structure stood through the Civil War and continued to be the home of five generations of the Shoppach family. 

                In 1959, the Shoppach House and grounds were sold to local resident David Demuth. The Saline County Art League organized events in which handmade items were sold to raise money to support the restoration of the home, as well as continued maintenance of the house and grounds. In 1962, the Saline County Art League moved the Pilgrim Rest Church building to the grounds of the Shoppach House. The church was established in 1833 along present-day Colonel Glenn Road in west Little Rock. The art league repurposed the old church building as the Saline County Art Center. 

                In September 1974, Demuth officially transferred ownership of the Shoppach House and property to the Saline County Art League for the price of $10. A restrictive covenant attached to the warranty deed stated that the historic home and grounds were to be used specifically as “an art center, historic landmark and showplace,” and that the house and outbuildings were to “never be removed or torn down.” In October 1975, the Shoppach House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

                In May 1980, renovations to the Shoppach House were completed. The home was furnished with period-accurate furniture and other historical artifacts donated by descendants of the Shoppach family and other local citizens. The DeTonti Post Office, built in 1940, was moved to the Shoppach House grounds. The small building is an excellent example of a small post office in mid-20th century rural Arkansas.

                Still owned by the Saline County Art League, the group has hosted book signing events, scout tours, family tours, as well as several open houses for the community to attend throughout the past few years. While the inside of the Shoppach House and other historic buildings are currently closed to the public, one can still walk freely on the historic grounds and get a sense of life in Saline County in the mid-1800s.

                A proud sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. Find him on Facebook and Instagram at AllAroundArkansas.

All Around Arkansas: Mexico Chiquito

            

            Growing up in central Arkansas in the 1980s, there was one of two restaurants my parents and I would always go to on Friday nights: Western Sizzlin’ Steak House on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in North Little Rock and Mexico Chiquito in Prothro Junction. 

            I was hooked on Mexico Chiquito from day one. Proof of that can be found in the ad my parents placed in my senior high yearbook, which includes a photo of me on my first day of kindergarten wearing a Mexico Chiquito t-shirt. 

            Undoubtedly, Mexico Chiquito is most famous for their cheese dip. According to many food historians, Mexico Chiquito was the restaurant that introduced the iconic dish to the United States. 

            The story goes that Blackie Donnally and his wife of Mexican descent, Margie, moved from somewhere along the Texas/Mexico border to Austin, Texas in 1935, where they opened the first Mexico Chiquito restaurant using Margie’s secret family recipes. 

            About three years later, the Donnallys moved to Hot Springs and opened a restaurant there along the old Hot Springs Highway. In late 1941, the Donnallys moved to the Prothro Junction area of North Little Rock and opened a Mexico Chiquito there. The restaurant was only open at night and was often called “Blackie’s Place.” 

            The Donnallys built a small house next door to the restaurant and eventually opened a take-out window for the lunchtime crowd called “Tak-A-Taco.” The restaurant was known for its candlelight ambiance and dirt floors. The original Mexico Chiquito menu had only four choices: the Mexican dinner, the summer plate, the Chiquito ladies’ dinner and the enchilada dinner. The Mexican dinner (the biggest of the offerings) consisted of a tomato juice cocktail, cheese dip, guacamole salad, a beef taco, a beef and cheese enchilada, a tamale covered with chili con carne and melted cheese, Spanish rice, refried beans, fruit punch and sherbet.  

            According to Jan Cass, a granddaughter of the Donnallys, it was her grandmother, Margie, who actually invented the famous Mexico Chiquito cheese dip. She also states that when the Donnallys owned the company, there was no "red" or "hot" sauce — just cheese dip. Cass believes that the new owners must have introduced that to the menu when her family sold the rights to the name and secret recipes to the Ballentine family. 

            The Ballentine family would operate Mexico Chiquito for 16 years until they sold it to central Arkansas restaurateur Jerry Haynie in 1979. Haynie’s company owned several Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in central Arkansas. His company would eventually build more Mexico Chiquitos, including one in Jacksonville, on Rodney Parham in Little Rock, on Camp Robinson Road in Levy, on Highway 10 in Little Rock, a Chiquito Mex-to-Go’s on West Markham in Little Rock and another in Conway.

            After Haynie’s death in March 2011, his businesses were taken over by family members. Over time, most of the Mexico Chiquitos in central Arkansas have closed. In fact, the only remaining Mexico Chiquito in Arkansas is the Mex-To-Go on West Markham, and it’s a take-out only operation. There’s still clearly a demand for the unique Tex-Mex food, as the lines at the Little Rock location are always long, especially at dinnertime.

            According to the restaurant’s recently updated website, “big things” are coming soon to Mexico Chiquito. I hope this means more locations where memories can be made over a bowl of cheese dip and a glass of fruit punch — just as my own family did some 40 years ago.

All Around Arkansas: Crater of Diamonds State Park

               

                 In my time as an employee of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism, and now, as a middle school Arkansas history teacher, I’ve learned that next to Bill Clinton and Walmart, our state is most known for being the only state where the public can mine for diamonds. 

                That's right. If you work hard and have a little luck, you might be able to find precious gems at Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro (Pike County).

                The 911-acre Crater of Diamonds State Park features a 37-acre plowed field that sits atop an ancient volcanic vent known as the Prairie Creek Pipe. The volcanic explosion that formed this pipe more than 100 million years ago brought diamonds from deep within the earth’s mantle to the surface. 

                John Wesley Huddleston found the first diamond on the site in August 1906. The next month, Huddleston sold an option on 243 acres of the land to a group of Little Rock businessmen, including Samuel Reyburn. 

                But Reyburn and company's several attempts at commercial diamond mining there failed, with the only significant yield coming from the original surface layer, where erosion over a long period of time had concentrated the diamonds.

                After Huddleston found the first diamond in 1906, the area around the mine was overrun with prospectors seeking to strike it rich. 

                According to local legend, hotels in and around Murfreesboro turned away 20,000 people that year. So the hopeful miners formed a tent city near the Crater of Diamonds, which they named "Kimberly" after the famed Kimberley diamond district in South Africa. 

                Another story says that Kimberly was created as a land-development venture in 1909 by Mallard M. Mauney and his son, Walter. That project went bust as the diamond boom faded almost as quickly as it began. Today, the Kimberly area is almost all cow pasture and farmland owned by descendants of the Mauneys.

                But people have found diamonds at Crater of Diamonds, some of them notable. They include the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, the largest diamond ever unearthed in the United States; the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight; the 15.33-carat Star of Arkansas; and the 8.52-carat Esperanza. 

                The most famous diamond found there is the 3.03-carat Strawn-Wagner diamond, discovered in 1990 by Shirley Strawn of Murfreesboro in 1990. The gem was cut down to a 1.09-carat brilliant shape and was certified as a perfect D flawless diamond, which is the highest quality diamond ever graded by the American Gemological Society.

                The Crater of Diamonds became part of the Arkansas park system in 1972, when the Department of Parks & Tourism purchased the site from the Arkansas Diamond Co. and Ozark Diamond Mines Corp., which had previously operated the site together as a tourist attraction. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1973. 

                Today, Crater of Diamonds State Park is open to the public and for a small fee — $13 for adults and $6 for children — visitors can dig for diamonds and other precious gems. Park visitors find an average of more than 600 diamonds each year. As of 2020, more than 80,000 diamonds have been found in the park. Regardless of the diamond’s value, visitors are permitted to keep what they find. 

                Crater of Diamonds State Park also features a visitor center with information about the geology of the park, a gift shop and a small restaurant. The park also contains the popular aquatic playground, Diamond Springs Water Park. For more, visit the park’s website at craterofdiamondsstatepark.com.

                So with spring break coming up, you might want to pack up and take the kids to Murfreesboro and dig for diamonds. Who knows? You might come back millions of dollars richer.

                A sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. His previous columns can be found at AllAroundArkansas.blogspot.com.

All Around Arkansas: The Man in Black

                

                As I write this week’s column, it’s Sunday, Feb. 26. Not only is it the 10th birthday of my beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie Marie, but it’s also the 91st birthday of the legendary country musician and Arkansas native, Johnny Cash.

                I was raised on country music. KSSN 96 FM played on the radio in my parents’ vehicles and on the alarm clock/radio that sat on our kitchen counter. My dad had a stack of vinyl and cassette tapes of artists such as Conway Twitty, Don Williams, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. 

                By the time I became a teenager and able to choose more of what I listened to, I found myself drawn to singers such as George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and others. Now don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Cash’s album, “Live at Folsom Prison,” mostly because of the humorous song, “A Boy Named Sue,” but honestly, I just wasn’t much of a “Man in Black” fan in my early years. 

                Fast forward many, many years later to when I began working for the Group Sales Division of the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism (Heritage was its own separate agency back then). Much of what our division did was “sell” Arkansas to out-of-state and international tour operators and travel writers. I remember my boss, Tracy Morales, telling me one morning that I would be accompanying her on a “familiarization tour” focusing on Arkansas’ musical history with a group of international tour leaders and writers.

                Tracy explained that because the bus trip around the Arkansas Delta would be long and tedious, we needed to be able to entertain our guests. She knew I played guitar and asked if I could perform some Johnny Cash songs on the trip. Again, as I wasn’t much of a fan, I said no. So she instructed me to learn some quickly, as the tour was just a couple of weeks away. 

                I got online and began printing off lyrics and chords to such songs as “Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and my old childhood favorite, “A Boy Named Sue.” Soon I became quite proficient in Cash’s musical repertoire. Much to my amazement, when the ride started to get monotonous, I pulled out my guitar, did my best Cash impression and the people on the bus went wild. They knew the words to every song. I was shocked! 

                After we took a tour of Cash’s restored boyhood home in Dyess, I led the group in a medley of Cash songs as I sat on the Cash family’s old front porch swing. No doubt, this was one of my favorite memories of working for Arkansas Parks & Tourism. 

                Last August, I started teaching at a private school in Bryant. One of my subjects is eighth grade Arkansas history. When I began teaching a section on famous Arkansans, I was surprised that the one famous Arkansan my students seemed to be most familiar with was Johnny Cash. When I asked these young students how they knew about Cash, most responded that their parents were fans or they had seen the hit 2005 movie, “Walk the Line.”

                It seems that the older I get, the more appreciative I become of Johnny Cash and his music. Perhaps it’s because his recurring themes — sin and redemption, the tragic loss of loved ones, learning from mistakes like shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die — resonate more with middle-aged me. Maybe it’s because, through my work in the Arkansas tourism industry, I’ve been able to visit and experience significant places in Cash’s history, such as his birthplace of Kingsland; his boyhood home in Dyess; Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded his first album; his home and office in Hendersonville, Tennessee; and his final resting place nearby. Maybe it’s a combination of all the above. 

                Whatever it is, after all these years I’ve come to understand what millions of fans (such as my dad) have known for decades — Johnny Cash is an American icon whose songs of sorrow and the plight of the common man age like a fine wine.

                A sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. His previous columns can be found at AllAroundArkansas.blogspot.com.

All Around Arkansas: The Greens at North Hills

 

                Located in my hometown of Sherwood, The Greens at North Hills was originally named the Sylvan Hills Country Club and was built in the Sylvan Hills community along Highway 107 in 1926. It was built by real estate developer Justin Matthews to provide recreational opportunities for residents living in the Park Hill subdivision in North Little Rock, as well as residents of his planned community called Sylvan Hills.

                A 1927 nmagazine ad stated that the Sylvan Hills Country Club boasted of a “magnificent field stone clubhouse, a swimming pool, four other buildings, and an 18-hole golf course, which has been pronounced as one of the finest in the state.” The swimming pool was the first public one opened in Arkansas.

                The Sylvan Hills Country Club was very successful up until the early 1930s, when America entered the Great Depression. As people had less disposable income for recreational activities, the country club closed. Milk cows from the nearby Salyer Dairy Farm were herded to the golf course to graze the fields during the summer of 1936 and into the mid-1940s. 

                After the end of World War II, several original members of the country club returned, reorganized the country club, and repurchased the land. A new clubhouse was built around 1946 on the original clubhouse’s foundation. However, unlike the original two-story building, the new clubhouse was only one story. The greens were also rehabilitated following many years of neglect and misuse.

                As finances were still tight after World War II, management purchased slot machines to help generate funds. Club members paid a hefty joining fee, but the fee was offset by the fact that there were no monthly dues. The slot machines were successful, in that they made enough money to cover the club’s expenses, as well as turn a modest profit. However, when Gov. Sid McMath began a campaign to end illegal gambling in Hot Springs, club officials feared that state law enforcement authorities would soon be sent to destroy the machines at Sylvan Hills. Club employees took the slot machines to a wooded area near the golf course at night and buried them, but the machines were found and destroyed. 

                In July 1950, Metropolitan Trust Co. (owned by the heirs of Justin Matthews) began selling residential lots alongside Sylvan Hills Country Club. As Sherwood grew, a huge demand was created for new homes in the area. In 1956, Sylvan Hills Country Club was renamed North Hills Country Club.

                The club’s second clubhouse caught fire and burned in May 1961. Almost immediately, the leaders of the new North Hills Country Club made plans to rebuild. With money from their insurance claim, the club built a small “teen building” behind the swimming pool and used this as a clubhouse while a new clubhouse was being built. Construction on the new structure began in October 1962 and was finished in December 1963 at a cost of approximately $300,000. In 1977, one of the world’s leading golf course architects, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was brought in to redesign the outdated 1920s golf course. The total cost to remodel the greens was around $800,000. This is the only course designed by Jones, Sr. in Arkansas.

                No longer profitable, the North Hills Country Club officially closed in May 2007. An offer was presented to the owners to purchase the land for use as a residential development. This caused a major uproar among many of the citizens of Sherwood, especially those who frequented the links and owned homes alongside the golf course. After much debate, the city settled all claims against the property and purchased it with taxpayer funds. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, making it one of only two properties in Sherwood granted the designation, the other being my favorite building in Arkansas-- the Roundtop Filling Station.

A sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and their beloved Boston Terrier, Dixie. His previous columns can be found at AllAroundArkansas.blogspot.com.