Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Confederate Monument On Historic Register

The Arkadelphia Confederate Monument at Arkadelphia in Clark County is among 12 monuments in 10 Arkansas counties that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the country's official list of historically significant properties, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Director Cathy Slater announced May 15. The AHPP is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The Arkadelphia Confederate Monument on the Clark County Courthouse grounds was erected in 1911 through the efforts of the Harris Flanagin Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

"These properties represent important physical reminders of an important period in Arkansas history," the National Register nomination says. "Crushed by humiliating military defeat at the hands of Union forces and embittered by the Reconstruction period that followed, many Arkansas citizens attempted through various social expressions, such as the building of monuments, to establish a Confederate `tradition.'

"The repercussions of this movement have lasted through contemporary times and the monuments continue to be cultural reference points for the discussion of the legacy of the period," the nomination says.

The other monuments listed are located at St. Charles, Siloam Springs, Lake Village, Batesville, Cabot, Lonoke, Helena, Russellville, Little Rock and Judsonia.

For more information on the National Register of Historic Places program, write the AHPP at 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, call the agency at 324-9880 (TDD 501-324-9811), or send e-mail to patrick @ dah.state.ar.us.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is the agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage responsible for the identification, evaluation, registration and preservation of the state's cultural resources. Other agencies in the department are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Akansas Commemorative Commission, the Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers Commission, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Arkansas Territorial Restoration.