The first World War demanded much from Arkansas. The Arkansas National Guard was incorporated into the U.S. Army and men left the state; cotton prices rose with the need for uniforms and bandages; lead and zinc mining industry grew rapidly; and factories were built to make weaponry. In all, 71,000 soldiers from Arkansas served, creating a massive labor shortage in the state.This online exhibit provides a glimpse of the changes WWI brought on Arkansas.
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Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1920 [aerial view in winter with snow]
Panoramic photograph of various buildings including barracks with snow on the ground at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1920.
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Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1920 [soldiers unloading wood from trains]
Panoramic photograph of soldiers in a long line unloading lumber from a train at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1920.
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Logs and branches were carefully cut...
Photograph of fences and pergolas on unidentified building at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, 1920. A typewritten description on the back reads: "Logs and branches were carefully cut and trimmed, and from them rustic fences, porches, pergolas, and gateways were built." Camp Pike, Arkansas. 1920.”
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Arkansas Boys in World War I
This is a black and white photograph of the headquarters of the Arkansas regiment, 315th Company, Field Artillery in Verneil, Le Chetif, France.
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Flight Surgeons Ambulance Corps, Eberts Field, Lonoke
Black and white photograph of the Flight Surgeons Ambulance Corps at Eberts Field in Lonoke during World War I
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Ira Wilson of Amity
Black and white photograph of Ira Wilson wearing a World War I uniform. Wilson was from the town of Amity in Clark County.
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U.S. Army Honorable Discharge for Marcheal Thomas
U.S. Army Honorable Discharge form for Marcheal Thomas, Camp Pike, Arkansas, Private, Co. D, 544th Engineers, June 26, 1919.
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U.S. Army Honorable Discharge for Nathaniel Buttler
U.S. Army Honorable Discharge form for Nathaniel Buttler, Camp Pike, Arkansas, Private, Co. "B," 815th Pioneer Infantry, August 7, 1919.
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1st Co 3d Bn. [Battalion], ICOTS, Camp Pike, Ark.
Panoramic photograph titled "1st Co [Company] 3d Bn. [Battalion] ICOTS, Camp Pike, Ark." of a group of soldiers posed in front of barracks at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1918. The photographer is "K.C. Studio “Little Rock, Ark." A sign on the right side of the image reads "1st Co 3d Bn. ICOTS Camp Pike, Ark. Photo by K.C. Studio “ Little Rock, Ark."
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4th Co. Officers Training School, Camp-Pike, Ark. August 1918.
Panoramic photograph titled "4th Co. Officers Training School, Camp-Pike, ARK. August 1918." of a group of soldiers with their rifles at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas. In the background of the photograph are buildings, automobiles, a horse-drawn wagon, clothes handing on clotheslines, a boy on a bicycle, and soldiers. The photographer is "Ewing, Inc., Official Photographers, Camp Pike, Ark." Inscriptions along the bottom of the photograph read: "Ewing, Inc. Official Photographers Camp Pike 4th Co. Officers Training School Camp-Pike, ARK. August 1918."
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7 Headquarters Staff, Camp Pike, Arkansas, spring of 1918
Photograph for members of the Headquarters Staff at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, 1918. A handwritten notation on the back of the photograph reads: "[Hagenbuck]-Athletic [Appleget] "“ Educational Kurtyhall [Charles Hurtzhalz]", "Camp Secy [Camp Secretary] Mitchell",“Religious # 7 Headquarters Staff Camp Pike, Arkansas Spring of 1918"
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Airing out, Camp Pike, Ark.
Postcard titled "AIRING OUT, CAMP PIKE, ARK." of beds and military gear sitting outside with soldiers and barracks in the background at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1918. The back of the postcard lists the producer of the card as "C.T. American Art."
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Arkansas, Little Rock quadrangle, Camp Pike
Topographic quadrangle map titled "ARKANSAS, LITTLE ROCK QUADRANGLE, CAMP PIKE" of the Little Rock, Arkansas, and surrounding area, produced by the United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S) in 1918. The map was originally issued in September 1893 (surveyed in 1891), then reissued in 1918 with land lines and red overprint showing the location of Camp Pike and Fort Logan H. Roots in present day North Little Rock, Arkansas. The map is a 15 minute topographic map with a scale 1:125,000. Contributors listed on the map include: Department of the Interior, Frankklin K. Lane, Secretary; U.S. Geological Survey, George Otis Smith, Director; Henry Gannettt, Chief Topographer; Jno. H. Renshawe, Geographer in charge; Triangulation by S.S. Gannett; and Topography by H.B. Blair.
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Camp Pike, Arkansas, during World War I [aerial view]
Copy of aerial photograph showing various buildings and a train track at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas. Men are working on a roof on one the buildings.
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Camp Pike, Ark., Oct. 30th, 1918, 8th Co. 4th Bn. [Battalion], Central Oficers [Officers] training school
Panoramic photograph titled "Camp Pike, Ark., Oct. 30th, 1918, 8th Co. 4th Bn. [Battalion], Central Oficers [Officers] Training School" of a group of soldiers with their hats off holding their rifles at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas. One of the buildings in the background has a sign on it with the number "23." The photographer was "Ewing, Inc., Official Photographers. Camp Pike, Ark." Inscriptions along the bottom of the photograph read: "Camp Pike, Ark. Oct. 30th, 1918" 8th Co. 4th Bn. Central Oficers (sic) Training School #183 2 Ewing Inc. Official Photographers Camp Pike, Ark."
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Camp Pike, Ark. recruit registering
Copy of photograph of recruits registering at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1918. The recruits in civilian clothing are standing in line in front of a building with the number 608-5. On the side of the negative is handwritten "Camp Pike, Ark. Recruit Registering."
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Camp Pike [postcard of aerial view, circa 1918]
The image on this postcard is of many buildings (some possibly barracks), stacks of lumber, a stand-alone chimney with material stacked around it, men loading trucks with supplies, various automobiles, a cabin, and men walking at Camp Pike, ca. 1918.
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Camp Pike, Thanksgiving dinner, 1918
Photograph of tables set for Thanksgiving Dinner at Camp Pike in 1918. The mess hall is decorated with streamers and plants for the celebration. On the tables are what appear to be cut-up turkeys, rolls, bananas, apples, mashed potatoes, dressing, olives, celery, cakes, bowls, plates, and cups. In the background of the photograph are six unidentified soldiers and three unidentified women in civilian clothing sitting next to a piano. A photograph of General John Pershing is on the back wall of the mess hall.
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Clarence Walter Ferguson, Company B, 1st Regiment, at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas
Copy of photograph of Clarence Walter Ferguson, Company B, 1st Regiment, standing in front of a U.S. Flag at Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, ca. 1918. Clarence Ferguson was a cook with Company B, 1st Regiment at Camp Pike during World War I.
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Company "M" Third Battalion, infantry replacement and training troops, Thanksgiving dinner program
Program for Company "M" Third Battalion, Infantry Replacement and Training Troops, Thanksgiving Dinner, November 28, 1918, Camp Pike, Arkansas. The program includes a menu and list of officers in Company M. Program from the Louis Edward Anderson Papers.
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Entrance to Camp Pike, Pulaski County, Arkansas, circa 1918
The photograph shows an entrance to Camp Pike, a building with a YMCA sign and "ADMINISTRATION 101" (left background), a camp store run by Pfeifer Department Store with a sign for "SHOE SHOP" on the back the building (far right foreground), various buildings, soldiers, female and male civilians, automobiles, and roads.
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Governor Charles H. Brough's Permanent Pass to the Headquarters 87th Division
A single-page permanent pass to the headquarters of the 87th Division, Camp Pike, Arkansas, issued on April 4, 1918 to Governor Charles H. Brough. The pass is signed by W.H. Dukes, Adjutant General, Acting Division Adjutant. In the lower right corner there is a notation written in pencil that appears to read "O.K. G.G.R." The pass is from the Charles H. Brough Collection. Charles Hillman Brough (1876-1935) was governor of Arkansas from 1917-1921.
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Letter from Benjamin Franklin Clark to Flora Hamilton, 1918 April 24
On April 24, 1918, Benjamin Franklin Clark wrote to his sweetheart, Flora Hamilton of Enders, Arkansas. He described his first few days after joining the service during World War I at Camp Pike, near Little Rock, Arkansas. Some of the topics he discusses in the letter include arriving, medical examination, vaccinations, the barracks, receiving his first uniform, the food, swearing, and gambling. He also talked about missing his students at the school, where he taught in Vilonia, Arkansas.