The Ozark region, located in northern Arkansas and southern
Missouri, has long been the domain of the folklorist and the travel
writer--a circumstance that has helped shroud its history in
stereotype and misunderstanding. With
Hill Folks, Brooks
Blevins offers the first in-depth historical treatment of the
Arkansas Ozarks. He traces the region's history from the early
nineteenth century through the end of the twentieth century and, in
the process, examines the creation and perpetuation of conflicting
images of the area, mostly by non-Ozarkers.
Covering a wide range of Ozark social life, Blevins examines the
development of agriculture, the rise and fall of extractive
industries, the settlement of the countryside and the decline of
rural communities, in- and out-migration, and the emergence of the
tourist industry in the region. His richly textured account
demonstrates that the Arkansas Ozark region has never been as
monolithic or homogenous as its chroniclers have suggested. From
the earliest days of white settlement, Blevins says, distinct
subregions within the area have followed their own unique patterns
of historical and socioeconomic development.
Hill Folks
sketches a portrait of a place far more nuanced than the timeless
arcadia pictured on travel brochures or the backward and
deliberately unprogressive region depicted in stereotype.