A look into our history
If you haven’t lived here long, you may not know how it was largely Democrats that helped build Baxter County through infrastructure spending. You remember the Depression and the New Deal, right? With a bit of research, you can find that New Deal projects in Arkansas number over 250. One of the major programs was the Works Progress Administration. WPA and National Youth Administration (NYA) projects range from schools, courthouses, bridges, flood control projects, stadiums, theaters, seven buildings on the University of Arkansas campus, art mural projects, and even a water tower or two. The Civilian Conservation Corps was also established in 1933 and put young men to work building parks in Arkansas that are still enjoyed by tourists to this day, nearly 100 years later. This program was specifically for underemployed single men between the ages of 18 and 25 or war veterans. After WWI many soldiers had a hard time finding employment. They earned money to send back to their needy families, ate three meals a day, and escaped the temptations of idle hands mixed with hopelessness by contributing to the renewal and beautification of the country.
Baxter county has examples of most of the above. For example, the Buford School (1935) is still in use as a community center. The Baxter County Courthouse (1940-41) still houses vital county offices. Down by Norfork is the Stone Creek waterway (1939) which reduced potential flood damages and today is a sought-after real estate area of beauty. The Big Flat Gym (1938) is still the scene of community recreation activities. Dominating the Cotter skyline is the “witch’s hat” water tower which was built in 1935. Calico Rock, Norfork, and Cotter each have school buildings constructed during the FDR Democratic administration. Democrats and infrastructure go together for the good of their communities. Of course, time and the list goes, and the GOP has had some great investments of their own in 1956. Recently you see infrastructure spending surrounded by negativity. By looking at the past and how we got here, we can see that infrastructure investments can be very effective. In the future, we’ll dive into these past investments more and look at how electricity and modern living came to rural Arkansas. Our hope is that the recent bi-partisan infrastructure bill will continue the work of earlier efforts.
-History Committee