Arkansas History Commission

The Arkansas History Commission announces the following African American materials that are available for public use in the research room.  These records are a small sample of interesting items that came through the History Commission in 2006 through donations, loans, and purchases.

The Black History Advisory Committee purchased several African American related books that have been added to the History Commission’s collection, along with twenty-four rolls of microfilm from the National Archives.  The microfilm contains Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages, 1864-1868, covering a number of southern states including Arkansas; the compiled Civil War service records for the 4^th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery (this unit, which organized in Tennessee, later moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where it mustered out on February 25, 1866); and, microfilm records of National Cemetery in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  National Cemeteries are a great source for locating African American burials of veterans from the Civil War to the present.

School yearbooks were donated from various sources.  Philander Smith College annual, “The Philanderian,” 1964, 1965, and 1971, can be found on the bookshelves.  Annuals from McRae High School in Prescott, Arkansas for the years 1957, 1960, 1969, are available on microfilm.

Records of Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sweet Home, Arkansas, 1944-1983, were loaned for microfilming by Carla Coleman of Little Rock, Arkansas.  The collection consists of ten volumes of records containing minutes of the church board, church treasurer, and Sunday school.  It also contains conference, teacher and class reports, bank statements, and miscellaneous correspondence.

Records of the Fraternal Cemetery of Little Rock, Arkansas, were loaned for microfilming by the City of Little Rock for the use by History Commission patrons.  Established in the 1880’s, Fraternal Cemetery is located on Barber Avenue, across from Oakland Cemetery.  The collection consists of three volumes of Cemetery Deed Books, 1900-1999, and the Index and Register of Lots, 1901-1981.

Sims Funeral Home records, 1951-2003, were loaned for microfilming by Pete Sims, Jr., El Dorado, Arkansas.  Sims Funeral Home was established at the family home of brothers Pete Sims, Jr., Floyd S. Sims, and Sears W. Sims.  The successful business, which has been in existence for fifty-five years covers funerals for El Dorado, surrounding areas, and parts of Louisiana.  The collection also includes approximately 200 original funeral programs dated from 1977-2005.   The collection is restricted to personal or historical research.

The Arkansas History Commission is located at 1 Capitol Mall, Little Rock, Arkansas  72201 (2^nd Floor).  The hours are Monday-Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.