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Arkansas annually attracts visitors from across the nation and abroad. Many are drawn to its abundant opportunities for outdoor adventures and to its natural beauty, as seen in the state's waterfalls, tour caverns and wild caving experiences, forested mountain trails and scenic drives. Some come to dig for keeper diamonds and quartz crystals.
But there are numerous attractions that make The Natural State a must see vacation and weekend getaway destination.
Amenities such as art galleries, live theater, professional sporting events, irresistible restaurants, microbreweries and a variety of lodging options can be found in the larger Arkansas cities. Meanwhile, Arkansas boasts charming small towns that lure travelers seeking a restful reprieve from the hurried pace of modern life.
Arkansas spas include the thermal waters of Hot Springs National Park. Across the state, delightful boutiques, specialty shops, antique stores and quilt shops in the following, making "quilt shops offer opportunities for finding one-of-a-kind souvenirs and treasures.
Arkansas's varied geography and its location in the U.S. heartland have contributed to make the state's history an intriguing slice of America's story. Arkansas history museums, Civil War battlefields, National Park Service sites and special exhibits across the state relate the history of Arkansas's diverse cultures and history.
In eastern Arkansas, the Mississippi River shaped a land where Delta blues music thrived. Traditional Ozark Mountain folk music, dance and crafts are kept alive in north central Arkansas.
The state's wine country serves its best in the Arkansas River Valley, which is also home to Fort Smith, the "Wild West" town that bordered the Indian Territory until 1907. An oil boom that began in 1921 brought wealth and wild times to towns like El Dorado in southern Arkansas. The Clinton Presidential Library honors the legacy of state native Bill Clinton, who served as U.S. President from 1993-2001. Clinton's boyhood home is open for tours in his birthplace town of Hope.
Arkansas chartered two banks during its first legislative session, a State Bank and a Real Estate Bank. Both would fail within a decade and the bonds they had issued became entangled in legally questionable deals. They would come to be known as the "Holford Bonds" because they eventually fell into the hands of a London Banker named James Holford. The issue of whether or not the bonds were a legitimate state debt and whether or not they would be repaid would be a political issue in the state throughout the 1800s.
Arkansas played a key role in aiding Texas in its war for independence with Mexico, sending troops and materials to Texas to help fight the war. The proximity of the city of Washington to the Texas border involved the town in the Texas Revolution of 1835-36. Some evidence suggests Sam Houston and his compatriots planned the revolt in a tavern at Washington in 1834.[2] When the fighting began a stream of volunteers from Arkansas and the eastern states flowed through the town toward the Texas battle fields.
When the Mexican-American War began in 1846, Washington became a rendezvous for volunteer troops. Governor Thomas S. Drew issued a proclamation calling on the state to furnish one regiment of cavalry and one battalion of infantry to join the United States Army. Ten companies of men assembled here where they were formed into the first Regiment of Arkansas Cavalry.
