The Arkansas Traveler looms large in the legend and lore of my beloved home state and here’s what I know about this tale!
The Story of the Arkansas Traveler
If you spend any time in Arkansas, you’ve probably heard about the Arkansas Traveler.
He’s more than just a character! The Arkansas Traveler is a legend, a folk-tale, a story, a famous folk song, a painting and lithograph, and even the name of a minor league baseball team.
,The Arkansas Traveler has been around for nearly two centuries, and his story is one of humor, hospitality, and the unique character of early Arkansas.
Here are some more Arkansas legends that you might be interested in reading!
Where the Story Began
Like all old tales the details of the story change depending on who is telling it. But what we know for sure is that the tale goes back to the 1840s when…
A young politician named Sanford Faulkner was traveling on horseback through the backwoods of Arkansas and lost his way.
Some say he was traveling through the Boston Mountains which is part of the Ozark Mountain chain. If that’s true, I can totally see how he could get turned around as that is a very rugged area.
According to the legend as told later by Faulkner himself, he stopped at a shabby-looking cabin to ask for directions. The owner was playing his fiddle on the front porch and wasn’t much interested in helping the young outsider out.
Supposedly Faulkner would ask the mountain man questions and he would answer in increasingly humorous and evasive ways. However, this particular Arkansas Traveler could also play the fiddle and offered to play along with the mountain man.
At that point the host warmed up and suddenly the Arkansas Traveler had food and drink and a place to rest.
In some versions of this little story it is said that it was raining when the traveler came upon the cabin and the roof was leaking terribly – just pouring buckets into the cabin.
When the owner (or sometimes it is said squatter) was asked why he didn’t fix the roof, he replied that he couldn’t fix it right now because it was raining.
When the traveler suggested he fix it on a nice day the mountain man replied, “well, it doesn’t leak on a nice day!”
Apparently the story captured the heart of those who heard it in the way it portrayed the tough, self-reliant people of Arkansas who might be suspicious of strangers, but who also loved music and laughter. .
From Story to Song
Sanford Faulkner turned his humorous story into an instrumental song in about 1840. His version was first printed around 1847 and was called either “The Arkansas Traveller or the Rackensac Waltz”.
Why Rackensac? Well, Arkansas has had many nicknames and was once called the Rackensac state!
Later in 1863 Mose Case, an American guitarist, added lyrics to the tune.
If you’ve ever heard old-time fiddle music, you have definitely heard this one. In fact, it is one of the most famous pieces of American folk music.
Later, the tale was performed as a comic sketch on stage, and eventually recorded in the very early days of phonographs. It has now become one of the most recorded tunes in American history.
It became so closely tied to Arkansas that it was eventually named the official state historic song in 1987.
The song is upbeat, lively, and fun much like the story itself.
Here is one version of the song!
The Arkansas Traveler Painting
There is also a famous painting representing The Arkansas Traveler by Arkansas native and artist Edward Payson Washbourne.
It was painted in 1856 and he he dedicated the painting to Sanford Faulkner, “Col. S.C. Faulkner.”
In 1859 the original image was published as a lithograph with a few bars of the song and the dedication below. It is made clear that the artist was from Arkansas.
However, In 1870, New York printmakers Currier & Ives brought out popular prints of the “Arkansas Traveller” and they credited neither Faulkner nor Washbourne.
A Symbol of Arkansas
Over time, the Arkansas Traveler became more than just a tune and a painting. He turned into a symbol of the state’s character and culture.
You’ll see his name used all over Arkansas, from businesses and inns to events and even the Little Rock minor league baseball team, the Arkansas Travelers.
In a way, the Arkansas Traveler represents the balance between rugged independence and warm hospitality that still defines the state today.
The “Arkansaw Traveller” Theater
When I was a child – a long, long time ago, my grandparents lived in Hardy, Arkansas. They took me to an outdoor theater called the “Arkansaw Traveller Theater.”
In my memory it was part play, part comedy, and part music and I LOVED it. The Arkansas traveler would come riding up to the stage (which was a set like a cabin porch) on a real horse.
I’d love to learn more about that if anyone can give me the information and the history of this theater!
Hope you enjoyed learning more about the Arkansas Traveler! Let me know of any other versions you have heard of the story and thanks so much for stopping by!
