The Natural State looked a lot more natural a century ago. Even though towns were still slowly being established, you can tell by looking at photographs from the early 19th-century that progress was still a long way away for Arkansas. These pictures taken around the state are a look back at what Arkansas was like a hundred years ago. A lot of places would be unrecognizable today, but the Arkansas charm is still recognizable from these photographs.
This photograph of downtown Pea Ridge was taken in 1920. We're a few years from being an exact century away from when this picture was snapped. How much has Pea Ridge changed today, right?
A picture of the post office in Valley Springs, taken in 1913, is good published proof of the simplicity of Arkansas life a century ago. Per the news caption, the town's mail was delivered by horseback as there was no train that passed through Valley Springs.
This photo, taken in May 1918, features Arkansas men from El Dorado who'd just been drafted into the Army. These soon-to-be World War I veterans were on the verge of seeing more than what they'd ever seen here at home.
J.J. Putnam's general merchandise store was rebuilt on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue in Pea Ridge after a fire destroyed the original building. This photograph was taken in 1914.
This photograph of downtown Pea Ridge is a nice view into the past. According to history records, the white house at the end of the street was a hotel operated by the Martin family. The hotel burned down around 1920.
This photo of the old JJ Putman store in Pea Ridge was taken before 1914 when a new building was built. This building burned down and was replaced with a concrete structure located on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue.
This is what the Little Rock Public Library looked like a decade after it had been funded by the Carnegie Corporation and built in 1910. The library was located downtown at West 7th Street and South Louisiana Street.
This photograph of what was then known as the longest pontoon bridge in the world was taken circa 1915. The bridge spanned the distance between Russellville and Dardanelle.
The main office of the Southern Pine Lumber Company in Texarkana was photographed in 1907. This picture of the billing clerk's office shows three employees at work, two featured in the foreground identified as Mr. Robert Waite and Miss Dee Eck.
Players from the Boston Red Sox take a break from Spring Training for this photograph taken in Little Rock in 1907. Those Northern baseball boys knew the best place to train was down here.
What will they say about Arkansas a century from now when they look at our generation? One thing is certain; thanks to the influx of social media, there will be plenty of 21st-century photographs of the Natural State for our descendants to study. How different will Arkansas look in another hundred years? Will everything still seem the same and hold its own charm? Sound off in the comments about our past and future here in the state!
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