I haven’t ever given Arkansas much thought. But today I’ll have a look since this is its anniversary. It was on March 2, 1819, that the territory of Arkansas was organized. It would not become a state until June 15, 1836.
The name has always been a curiosity to me. The word “Arkansas” came from the Quapaw Indians, by way of early French explorers. But wouldn’t you know, Ohio had a part in it? Loosely.
When the French were rooting around and exploring that area, they came to know a tribe of Indians, the Quapaws. They lived in an area west of the Mississippi and north of the Arkansas River. So, those Quapaws were known as the “people who live downstream.” And it was the Algonkian-speaking Indians of the Ohio Valley who called them the Arkansas, or “south wind.”
Now, I know many people who have a strong south wind after eating pork and beans and such. I think I’m going to start saying, “Oh, pardon your Arkansas.”
The pronunciation is what is curious to me. It looks like we should be saying it:
arr – Kansas
or
arr – can – SASS
Apparently, throughout history, a lot of people have had the same pronunciation queries as I’ve had. But in the early days of Arkansas
statehood, two U.S. Senators were divided on the spelling and pronunciation.
One was always introduced as the senator from “ARkanSAW” and the other as the senator from “Ar-KANSAS.” So, to end the division, in 1881, the state’s General Assembly passed a resolution. They put a foot down and said the state’s name should be spelled “Arkansas” but pronounced “Arkansaw.”
So there it is. You would think since it sounds like a saw, there would be a lot of sawing going on there. And so seems to be the case. The biggest lumber-producing states are Washington, Georgia, Alabama, and California. Arkansas is fifth.
But lumber isn’t considered one of Arkansas’ key industries. Agriculture seems to rule there, which includes poultry, soybeans, cattle, rice, cotton, and hogs. There is a variety of industries too, like machining, minerals, and metal parts.
Arkansas is the only state to produce diamonds. And yet?
Whatever is happening down there in the way of making money must not be going so well. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the states and territories that have the highest percentages of poverty in the country: Puerto Rico, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas.
They fall about halfway down the population scale, so I suppose a lot of people go there by choice. They are 33rd in population as the states go. California and Texas are the top two. Vermont and Wyoming are at the bottom. Ohio is seventh overall.
The same goes for area — the total land is in any given state. Arkansas is 29th. The two biggest states are Alaska and Texas. The smallest are Rhode Island and Delaware. Ohio is 34th in land area. We have people crammed into this state, apparently.
Johnny Cash grew up in Arkansas, by the way. So did Maya Angelou. And President Bill Clinton. I’m sure there are others, but they aren’t coming to me.
Here’s a thing. The University’s mascot is the Razorback. That is a wild boar, which is native to the Arkansas wilderness. I should add, the Ozark National Forest covers more than one million acres. That’s some serious forest for angry, mean boars. Yes, they are, at times, extremely ill-tempered.
Speaking of ill-tempered. According to the World Population Review, Arkansas was the 6th worst state to live in, here in the United States. Louisiana and Alabama were the top two. The overall ranking may explain the ill-tempered pigs.
So. A little bit of Arkansas. You SAW it here. No matter how you pronounce it.
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“I am malicious because I am miserable.”
― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
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“He’s turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed.”
― David Frost
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“I never knew it was possible to be so miserable in so many ways.”
― Amie Kaufman, These Broken Stars
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https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/worst-states-to-live-in
The Natural State is one of the worst, it seems.
