History Of Johnson County Arkansas

Excerpt from Johnson County, Arkansas: The First Hundred Years I inquired and found no one inclined to undertake a similar work, therefore, I imposed the task upon myself. I was born in Johnson County, and I feel that its history belongs to me and my children. Many worthy and highly esteemed persons have doubtless not been given a proper place in this book, but the facts have been gathered, a bit here and a bit there, covering a space of several years, and I assure you, any omission was from lack of knowledge. Especially have I endeavored to deal with persons and events as much as possible up to the year 1880, and their relationship to the present. Biographies have been my principal stumbling block. Sometimes I almost weakened in that endeavor, lest they should not be accurate in every detail. Yet, to posterity, nothing in this little volume will be more interesting, nor of more value. I could only give these themes in part, nothing more was at hand. They were taken from old sketches given by the settlers themselves, to some publication, or from booster editions of newspapers, or from verbal speech from some mem ber of the families. From necessity some facts herein have been taken from other volumes, but not without privilege first being obtained from those concerned. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Great Depression, more than any other era, helped carry Johnson County into its modern state. The Depression marked one of the busiest and most eventful periods in Johnson County history. Although the effects of the economic crisis were strongly felt by its residents, the county fared better than other counties in Arkansas. County officials took full advantage of federal aid and work programs, putting citizens back to work and improving the local infrastructure. The county developed a diversified economy ranging from agriculture and extraction of natural resources to the manufacturing of finished goods. Mechanization in the form of farm equipment and motorized vehicles reduced the need for manual labor and prompted the consolidation of small, rural school districts with larger districts in the county. Lasting traditions such as the Peach Festival, the state's oldest outdoor festival, emerged during the Depression Era and have continued to the present-day. Johnson County is unique in that it rebounded quickly from the severe economic downturn. Reports as early as 1931 indicated the country's recovery and its emergence as a more industrialized county.

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The book chronicles several families and their descendants, all connected with Revolutionary War soldier Garrett Z. Watts. The history underscores their adventures and family bonds as they seek to build their lives in Johnson County, Arkansas amidst the westward expansion from southeastern United States.