History of Newton County Told Through Photographs

Nov. 1, 2012 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Newton County from local authors Ray Hanley and Diane Hanley, with the Newton County Historical Society. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

Anchored around the county seat of Jasper with a population of less than 500 and one of the most picturesque courthouse squares in the state, Newton County is a nature lover’s dream. The majority of the county is composed of the Ozark National Forest and the scenic corridor of the Buffalo National River, the nation’s first national river, where Jasper is a hub.

Spring weekends find the area filled with vehicles bearing canoes and kayaks traveling to float the incomparable Buffalo River and, as year-round backpackers head out for scores of trails through the most striking wilderness in the eastern half of the nation. Amidst the scenery, long before the designation of the national river, Newton County was home to self-sufficient pioneers who began arriving in the early 1800s to build log cabins and farms to support their families—a spirit that remains today.

Highlights of Newton County:
•   Life and commerce around the Jasper Courthouse square.
•   The timeless Buffalo and the nature that surrounds it.
•   Working hard to earn a living from a rock land.
•   Hardship and perseverance in the 1930s.
•   Hamlets and crossroads.
•   Teaching and preaching in schools and churches of the county.
•   Bygone tourist attractions.
•   Scenic highway 7.
•   Faces of Newton County.

Ray Hanley has authored or coauthored 15 Arkansas history books and is the CEO of an Arkansas-based health-care company. Diane, who has coauthored three previous Arcadia titles, is an occupational therapist working in the mental-health service delivery area.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or
(888)-313-2665.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.