Small Town Arkansas - MIDTERM STORY
Everyone comes from their own little “small town.” For me, I come from the little town known as Oil Trough, Arkansas. Most of you reading this probably have no idea where that is. From Walnut Ridge, Arkansas it is a little over an hour southwest. Take the interstate to Newport, go over the bridge, drive though the farmland, and poof there it is.
There are many unique things about Oil Trough, but you may wonder “Abby, the town is only 2 minutes big.” Well the history behind those 2 minutes makes a lifetime. In the picture above is the Old Store. The Hankin’s Old General Store is located on the main road through town, so everybody traveling through probably thinks this is just an old abandoned building. To Oil Trough natives, it’s history.
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| Photo taken by Jim Raines https://pixels.com/featured/oil-trough-arkansas-jim-raines.html |
There are many unique things about Oil Trough, but you may wonder “Abby, the town is only 2 minutes big.” Well the history behind those 2 minutes makes a lifetime. In the picture above is the Old Store. The Hankin’s Old General Store is located on the main road through town, so everybody traveling through probably thinks this is just an old abandoned building. To Oil Trough natives, it’s history.
When it comes to remembering the old store, I am far too young. For my mom, she recalls going to the store with her dad, my grandfather. She recalls the store being “A very active place in town where everyone came to grab a drink and a sandwich, and join the table at the back of the store as they tried to solve the problems of the world.”
You may wonder, “Is that the only thing this town is known for?” No, beginning in the 1800s French frontier men learned that the land, now known as Oil Trough, was filled with all kinds of game including bears. The hunters quickly learned that bear oil was best for cooking. Hunters began making and using wooden troughs to hold the bear oil. This is how Oil Trough got its name.
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| Photo found on https://www.flickr.com/photos/courthouselover/46525258022 |
The abundant population of bears in the early years of Oil Trough is really what it is known for. There have since been other things pop up in Oil Trough. Things such as a school known as the Oil Trough Bears, Sissy’s Restaurant, The Lunch Box, Rockhard Powdercoating, and multiple farmers in the area. Oil Trough gives the sense of “home,” because everyone knows everyone, and where they all sit at The Lunchbox solving the current problems of the world. Some people may not be impressed with my small town Arkansas, but for me it will always be home.
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| Photo by Google Maps |
Sources:
Courthouselover. “Oil Trough Sign (Oil Trough, Arkansas).” Flickr, Yahoo!, 3 Jan. 2019, https://www.flickr.com/photos/courthouselover/46525258022.
Gavin, Harla. Interview. Conducted by Abigail Gavin. 23 February 2023.
“Oil Trough (Independence County).” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 11 Jan. 2023, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/oil-trough-independence-county-5603/.
“Oil Trough Arkansas by Jim Raines.” Pixels, https://pixels.com/featured/oil-trough-arkansas-jim-raines.html.
Wallace, Michelle. “A Splash of History.” Arkansas Online, 25 Oct. 2007, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/oct/25/splash-history-20071025/.
I’ve never heard of a town that was 2 minutes big, so that’s an interesting description. Also what is Powdercoating? It sounds fascinating.
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