Here are 25 of our favorite totally random, but fun and interesting facts about Arkansas!
We are Arkansas natives and some of these were things that even we didn’t know.
If you are a visitor to our beautiful state, you might even surprise a few locals with your Arkansas knowledge!
Fun Facts About Arkansas
1. Arkansas actually has an official pronunciation
One of the first things you need to know about Arkansas is how to pronounce the name of the state.
It’s Ar-kan-saw. There is no Kansas in Arkansas, y’all.
In fact, the government decided on an official pronunciation way back in 1881. The official pronunciation has three syllables, the final “s” is silent, and pronouncing it like Kansas is officially “discouraged.”
So, although it isn’t actively illegal to pronounce Arkansas wrong, I’ll let you know that Arkansans sure do prefer that you get it right!
2. The postal abbreviation for Arkansas is AR, not AK
I’m putting this near the top because I see SO many people get it wrong.
I’ll admit, it is a pet peeve of mine.
The postal abbreviation for Arkansas is AR. Repeat after me:
- Alaska is AK.
- Arkansas is AR.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
I also have a list of funny town names in Arkansas that you might enjoy as well as a list of the state symbols in Arkansas.
3. Little Rock got its name from an actual rock
Yes, there really is a little rock in Little Rock.
The city was named for a rock formation along the south bank of the Arkansas River that early river travelers used as a landmark.
And at the time – it wasn’t all that little! But it was called the “little rock” to distinguish it from an even larger rock formation across the river.
4. Arkansas has a serious claim to cheese dip fame
Cheese dip is a big deal in Arkansas.
Blackie Donnelly, the founder of Mexico Chiquito, was serving the cheesy concoction in Arkansas by 1935, and the state has claimed cheese dip as its own ever since.
You can read more about where to find the best cheese dip in Little Rock here. Or learn more about how cheese dip came to be so important in Arkansas. Heck, we even have a World Cheese Dip Championship in Little Rock.
Yep, we take our melted cheese seriously around here.
5. Arkansas has some other interesting food claims to fame
Cheese dip isn’t our only contribution to the food world.
Here are a few more Arkansas foods and products with interesting ties to the state:
- Cavender’s Greek Seasoning has been made in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas since 1970.
- The cheese-filled hot dog was created by the Finkbeiner Meat Packing Company in Little Rock in 1956.
- Chocolate gravy has long been part of the food tradition of the Arkansas Ozarks.
- Grapette got its start in Camden, Arkansas, in 1939.
- Meyer’s Bakery in Little Rock became nationally known for its brown-and-serve rolls.
We may not get enough credit as a food state.
6. Arkansas really is The Natural State
The Natural State is the official nickname of Arkansas.
And honestly, it fits.
Arkansas has forests, clear lakes, rivers, bayous, waterfalls, caves, wetlands and more. And, yes, Arkansas also has mountains and don’t let anyone tell you any different!
Some of the best facts about Arkansas regarding nature are:
- Arkansas has over 600,000 acres of lakes
- Arkansas has miles of streams and rivers.
- More than 1/2 of the state is forested.
7. You can dig for diamonds in Arkansas — and keep what you find
This is one of the coolest facts about Arkansas.
At Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, visitors can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source.
And if you find one? You get to keep it. In fact the motto of the park is, “You find it. You keep it. No matter how valuable it is.”
The diamond field sits on the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic pipe, and thousands of diamonds have been found here through the years.
It’s basically a giant treasure hunt in an Arkansas field.
8. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was found in Arkansas
The largest diamond ever unearthed in the United States was found at the Crater of Diamonds State Park site long before it became a state park.
It was discovered in 1924 and weighed an incredible 40.23 carats in the rough. They named it the Uncle Sam Diamond.
That’s a long way from the little sparkly speck most visitors hope to find!
9. The highest point in the state is…not very high.
Mount Magazine is the highest point in the state at 2,753 feet.
And as an added bonus Rich Mountain which is the site of Queen Wilhelmina State Park is the second highest point in the state.
10. Hot Springs was federally protected 40 years before Yellowstone became a national park
Here’s one that surprises a lot of people.
In 1832, the federal government set aside the land around the thermal springs in what is now Hot Springs National Park for public use.
That was 40 years before Yellowstone became the world’s first national park in 1872. So, could this mean that Hot Springs was “really” the first national park?
Not officially, no…but it was the first time the federal government set aside land for recreation, decades before Yellowstone, so….
If you are planning a trip to Hot Springs check out our complete guide to this unique city.
11. Arkansas is home to the first national river in the United States
The Buffalo River became the country’s first national river in 1972.
Today, Buffalo National River protects about 135 miles of this beautiful free-flowing river through the Ozarks of northern Arkansas.
The Buffalo is surrounded by towering bluffs, forests, waterfalls, caves and some of the prettiest scenery in the state. It is also one of the few undammed, free flowing rivers in the lower 48 states.
12. We have alligators in Arkansas.
There are definitely alligators in Arkansas.
They aren’t in every body of water like they are in Florida, but wild alligators do live in Arkansas, particularly in the southern part of the state.
Arkansas even has a regulated alligator hunting season.
I’m sure there are some of you who didn’t really want to know this particular Arkansas fact.
Sorry about that.
13. Arkansas doesn’t have a major professional sports team
Arkansas doesn’t have an NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL team.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that means Arkansans aren’t serious about sports.
College sports are HUGE here, and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks are the favorite team in basically every sport.
Woo Pig Sooie!
14. A Razorback is a real animal
The razorback hog is more than a mascot. It is a very real animal running through our Arkansas hills and farms and forests.
They also happen to be wild, destructive, surprisingly fast, and basically a nuisance.
15. Arkansas elected the first woman to the U.S. Senate
Hattie Caraway of Arkansas made history in 1932 when she became the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
She had originally been appointed to fill the seat of her late husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway, but then decided to run for the office herself – and won.
She went on to become the first woman to chair a Senate committee and served in the Senate until 1945.
This is one of the facts about Arkansas that I love.
Hattie Caraway is on my list of the most famous people from the state of Arkansas.
16. Arkansas has three spectacular glass chapels
Arkansas is home to three famous glass chapels:
Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista and Anthony Chapel at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs.
The best known is Thorncrown Chapel, designed by famous Arkansas architect E. Fay Jones, who studied under and was mentored by Frank Lloyd Wright.
The American Institute of Architects later ranked Thorncrown fourth on its list of the top buildings of the 20th century.
That’s a pretty big honor for a little chapel tucked away in the Arkansas woods.
17. Arkansas has its own famous monster
The most famous of the monster legends in Arkansas is the Fouke Monster, also known as the Boggy Creek Monster.
He’s basically Arkansas’s version of Bigfoot.
The creature is said to be large, hairy and somewhat human-shaped, with very long arms.
And apparently he smells terrible.
Reported sightings go back for decades, but it was the 1972 movie The Legend of Boggy Creek that really made the Fouke Monster famous.
18. Arkansas has mysterious lights near the town of Gurdon
The Gurdon Light is one of Arkansas’s strangest mysteries.
For decades, people have reported seeing mysterious lights along an old railroad area outside the town of Gurdon in southwest Arkansas.
There are all sorts of theories about what causes them.
Some believe there is a natural explanation. Others connect the lights with local ghost stories and consider this one of the most haunted places in Arkansas.
Either way, the legend of the Gurdon Light isn’t going away anytime soon.
19. Arkansas has one of only two purse museums in the world.
The ESSE Purse Museum in Little Rock is one of only two purse museums in the world.
And it is MUCH more interesting than you might expect.
The museum uses handbags and their contents to tell the story of women and changing American life throughout the 20th century.
ESSE is located in the SoMa neighborhood of Little Rock.
If quirky museums are your thing you might enjoy this list of some of the other museums in the state of Arkansas.
20. The world headquarters of ATA Martial Arts is in Little Rock
This is one of those random Arkansas facts that a lot of people don’t know.
ATA Martial Arts, formerly known as the American Taekwondo Association, has its world headquarters in Little Rock.
The organization moved its headquarters to Arkansas in 1977.
21. Arkansas is home to the Folk Music Capital of the World.
Mountain View, Arkansas is the Folk Music Capital of the World.
You might think that this is a big claim for such a small town. However, a visit to Mountain View will show you the truth of their declaration.
They have music on the square, on porches, in front of the courthouse, and in gazebos.
If the weather is middlin’ to good you will get to experience some of the best pickin’ and fiddlin’ that you have ever heard.
22. The World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest is held in Arkansas
The World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest is held in Stuttgart, Arkansas. This makes perfect sense if you know anything about Stuttgart.
The town sits in the heart of Arkansas’s famous rice and duck country and is often called the Rice and Duck Capital of the World.
The duck calling contest has become one of the best-known traditions in the state.
23. Hope, Arkansas, is famous for some enormous watermelons
Hope is well known for a couple of things. One of them is watermelons…and not any ordinary watermelons.
Watermelons grown around Hope have set world records through the years, and the town celebrates its watermelon-growing tradition every summer with the Hope Watermelon Festival.
Oh yeah, it was also the birthplace of somebody you might have heard of, former President Bill Clinton.
Not bad for a small Arkansas town.
24. Arkansas grows nearly half of the rice produced in the United States
Arkansas is the top rice-producing state in the country. In a typical year, Arkansas grows close to half of all the rice produced in the United States.
Most of it is grown in the flatter eastern part of the state, where rice fields are a huge part of both the landscape and the economy.
If you’ve driven through eastern Arkansas in summer, you’ve seen just how much rice we grow.
25. One of the largest companies in the world started in Arkansas
This is probably one of the best-known facts about Arkansas.
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Arkansas, in 1962.
From that single store in Northwest Arkansas, Walmart grew into one of the largest companies in the world. The company is still headquartered in nearby Bentonville today and you can check out their free museum to learn the whole Walmart story.
That’s quite a journey from one little Arkansas discount store.
I hope you enjoyed this list of random facts about Arkansas!
My home state is a fun and fascinating place, and the longer I explore it the more interesting things I find.
If you are interested in a little more fun and trivia, we have a post that will tell you the best songs about Arkansas.
And if you are planning a visit, here is some information about the best time of year to visit Arkansas!
