Officially held on June 15, 1936, Arkansas’ centennial celebration commemorated the date President Andrew Jackson signed legislation making Arkansas the 25th state in the Union.
Early planning was conducted by an Honorary Centennial Commission that was formed in 1933 and which lasted two years before the state Legislature replaced it with the Arkansas Centennial Commission (ACC). Chaired by Harvey C. Couch, founder of Arkansas Power and Light (AP&L), the commission grew to 158 members. The Legislature made no appropriations to support the celebration. U.S. senators Joseph T. Robinson and Hattie W. Caraway led Arkansas’ congressional delegation in securing a $75,000 federal gift to help the state.
The U.S. Postal Service pledged to issue a 3-cent commemorative postage stamp. The design centered on the Old State House enclosed in a circular panel. At its left was a representation of the first settlement, Arkansas Post, and on the corresponding right was the present state Capitol. The Postal Service recorded the sale of 79,992,650 Arkansas commemorative stamps.
Further funding came through sales of two congressionally approved commemorative half-dollar coins. Minted in Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco, the “Arkansas Half Dollar” coin shows the portrait of an American Indian chief and a white figure idealized as Liberty on its obverse.
Designed by Edward Everett Burr, a Little Rock artist, and sculpted by Emily Bates of Chicago, the reverse depicts a spread-winged eagle perched atop an orb from which rays emanate, with a background of stars in a diamond shape as found in the state flag. A second half-dollar commemorative coin with the same reverse has an obverse depicting a right-facing profile of Robinson. Artist Henry Kreis of Connecticut sculpted the Robinson image from sketches created by Enid Bell of New Jersey. The “Arkansas Half Dollar” was minted for five years, from 1935 through 1939, with 85,000 coins produced. The “Robinson Half Dollar” was not coined until 1937, with 25,265 struck only at the Philadelphia Mint.
Commencing the centennial tribute and serving as the centerpiece of festivities was a visit by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, on June 10, 1936. Their special presidential train arrived in Hot Springs in the early morning. At the Arlington Hotel, the first lady met 500 leading women involved in Arkansas organizations. Following breakfast, the presidential party toured Bathhouse Row and the surrounding areas of Hot Springs National Park.
Around 2:30 p.m., the presidential party traveled to Rockport, where they attended a religious service followed by a parade depicting early Arkansas history. The presidential train then proceeded to Little Rock, where the program included a concert by the U.S. Marine Band and a five-episode pageant titled “America Sings.” The visit culminated with an address by President Roosevelt via national radio broadcast in which he formally opened the Arkansas centennial celebration.
The celebration continued throughout the next six months. Amid the prolonged celebration were county pageants and homecomings, exhibits of relics and antiques, a circus, pilgrimages, picnics, festivals, carnivals, band concerts, essay contests, time capsules, fireworks, dances, basketball and baseball games, boat races, political rallies, Confederate reunions and battlefield gatherings, rodeos, parades, fairs, singing conventions and flower shows. Hometown celebrations allowed Arkansans to forget the Depression and their situation. Revelry culminated on Dec. 5 with the Southwest Conference (SWC) championship football game between the University of Arkansas Razorbacks and the University of Texas Longhorns; it was dubbed the “Battle of the Centennials” as Texas was celebrating its 100th anniversary of independence from Mexico. The Arkansas victory gave the Razorbacks their first outright SWC championship.
Among the happenings around the state were the crowning of the Centennial Queen, Imogene Schneider of Lonoke; the designation of a centennial flower, the David O. Dodd Rose; the composition of a centennial poem, “Epic of Arkansas,” by John Gould Fletcher; and a centennial song, “Arkansas Centennial Official Ode,” collaboratively composed by Laurence Powell and Fletcher. Little Rock’s Fair Park hosted a music festival made up of 1,200 musicians and singers.
Using $10,000 set aside from the federal gift, the ACC procured 143 cast-iron historical markers to be placed at locations or trails commemorating their significance in Arkansas history. Money earned by ACC sales — particularly the sale of centennial coins in 1936 and their reissue in 1937, 1938, and 1939 — financed Arkansas welcome stations and the distribution of promotional material. The federal government even distributed a short history of Arkansas to schools around the nation.
The ACC surveyed its campaign effectiveness to raise awareness of the state by counting out-of-state cars. Their tally showed 1.5 million in 1935, 1.9 million in 1936, and 2.5 million in 1937. — John Spurgeon
This story is adapted by Guy Lancaster from the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas, a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. Visit the site at encyclopediaofarkansas.net.
