History and Genealogy of the South Shore
The north central area of Arkansas has been home
to many different native peoples for thousands of years, beginning
with a group known as the Cliff Dwellers. These people inhabited
rock shelters and caves in the cliffs above area rivers. Later
came the Mound Builders, and current residents who spend a lot
of time walking the countryside say the mounds are still here.
When the Spaniards searching for silver reached
the area in the 1540s, they found Osage, Delaware, Shawnees and
Cherokee -- as many as 14 tribes once called the Ozarks home.
Three centuries later, a part of the Trail of Tears,
which went from Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to Oklahoma,
passed through the region; and research and documentation of
that route (Benge's Route) is being spearheaded by a Baxter County
historian.
Early in the 1800s, families from the eastern and
southern areas of the United States, mostly of Scots-Irish and
German descent, began to push west into the Ozarks, searching
for a better life and, probably, a little more solitude. They
and their descendants stayed awhile; then many moved on to Oklahoma
or Texas or further west.
Those that stayed here have enjoyed the beauty
of our area and watched it change and grow. These "old timers" have
been joined by "newcomers," immigrants to the area
from the colder north and more hectic west, looking for a good
place to raise their families and live quality lives. And they
find it here in the Ozarks.
If your family is one of the many who've passed
through and spent a while here, these local history and genealogy
links may help you find just what you're looking for!
Good luck in your research, and may you find fifteen
well-documented generations at the end of one of these links.
History is alive and well on Main Street in Gassville where the Baxter
County Historical and Genealogical Society has developed
the Baxter County Heritage Museum, which includes the
Garr-Jackson Genealogy Library, in the historic Rollins Hospital
Building.
Local History and Genealogy Links
Baxter
Query the GNIS database for United States and Territories to find Baxter County features you can pinpoint
- cemeteries, settlements, towns, creeks, schools, churches, and more!
Boone
Query the GNIS database for United States and Territories to find Boone County features you can pinpoint - cemeteries, settlements, towns, creeks, schools, churches, and more!
Izard
Query the GNIS database for United States and
Territories to find Izard County features you can pinpoint - cemeteries, settlements,
towns, creeks, schools, churches, and more!
Marion
Query the GNIS database for United
States and Territories to find Marion County features you can pinpoint
- cemeteries, settlements, towns, creeks, schools, churches, and more!
Trail of Tears
Some Great Free General Genealogy Sites